Rising electricity consumption by Ireland’s insatiable data centres has prompted the government to reignite a debate about nuclear power. Data centres account for nearly a quarter of all electricity used in Ireland — a share set to rise to at least 30 per cent by 2032. Their consumption grew 10 per cent last year from 2024, far outstripping the 2 per cent growth of all other users.

Unlike Ireland and the UK, nuclear power has never been an option in Ireland due to bans since 1999. Taoiseach Micheál Martin recently told a business dinner: “We’re open to that [nuclear].” One of his Fianna Fáil party backbenchers, Jennifer O’Connell, has introduced a bill to lift the veto on nuclear power. Ireland has the lowest non-household electricity prices in the EU, while Italy has the highest.

A favourable tax regime has lured global tech companies to set up European headquarters in Ireland. The data centre sector is increasingly eyeing nuclear power, with companies racing to restart mothballed plants. AI hyperscalers such as Amazon and Google are looking to use small modular reactors (SMRs).

In an April opinion poll, 43 per cent of respondents wanted the nuclear ban scrapped compared with 28 per cent in favour of keeping it.