{"id":614106,"date":"2026-09-04T09:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T09:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/614106\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T09:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T09:48:12","slug":"we-just-dont-want-them-hundreds-gather-in-a-kildare-town-over-data-centre-plans-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/614106\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We just don\u2019t want them\u2019: hundreds gather in a Kildare town over data centre plans \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a collective gasp in the room when a map on a projector showed the size of the area in Naas<\/a> that might experience an audible hum if a planned data centre<\/a> campus is built in the Co Kildare<\/a> town. <\/p>\n

\u201cJesus,\u201d one man muttered. <\/p>\n

He was one of more than 200 people who showed up to a public meeting on Thursday night about plans to built large data centres in the area.<\/p>\n

People who live more than 2km away from a data centre in Clondalkin, west Dublin, have lodged complaints<\/a> about noise levels, with some saying they can\u2019t sleep. <\/p>\n

Clondalkin is a cautionary tale, the crowd is told. It\u2019s too late for them, but not for Naas.<\/p>\n

A recording from Clondalkin, Dublin, has captured a loud hum being produced by a nearby data centre. Video: Aaron Jeffrey <\/p>\n

Extra chairs had to be carried into the function room at the Osprey Hotel as people continued to spill into the venue before the meeting. Organisers said they had expected about 80 people to show up; much more than double that amount did. <\/p>\n

\"MoreMore than 200 people attended a meeting about data centres in Naas on Thursday evening. Photograph: \u00d3rla Ryan\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Planners last year gave the green light to a high-profile \u20ac3 billion data centre complex \u2013 proposed by Herbata Ltd \u2013 next to the M7 motorway and business park in Naas.<\/p>\n

However, the future of this cloud storage facility remains very much up in the clouds. <\/p>\n

Kildare County Council <\/a>approved the plan in August 2025<\/a> with dozens of conditions attached, many of which relate to energy use. <\/p>\n

A month later, environmental groups lodged an appeal against the decision, warning it would dramatically increase electricity demand based on fossil fuels and undermine Ireland\u2019s climate commitments.<\/p>\n

Herbata said it would not draw electricity from the national grid and would eventually rely completely on renewables for its energy. <\/p>\n

An Coimisi\u00fan Plean\u00e1la<\/a> is expected to rule on the appeal by January.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about Clondalkin, where they are now \u2013 the residents are complaining, they can\u2019t sleep at night-time, and it\u2019s built. That data centre is not going anywhere,\u201d Krystle Foley, of the Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign, told the crowd. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on the other side. We\u2019ve got areas that are zoned for data centres, but the data centres aren\u2019t built.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KrystleKrystle Foley, of the Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign, advised the crowd to contact local councillors and TDs to air their grievances about the proposed data centres. Photograph: \u00d3rla Ryan\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Clondalkin may be a cautionary tale for Naas, but Ireland is a cautionary tale for the world. <\/p>\n

Several speakers referenced a recent UN report that described the Republic as \u201ca live cautionary example\u201d of energy demand running ahead of infrastructure<\/a> due, in large part, to data centres and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Data centres accounted for almost a quarter of the electricity consumed in Ireland<\/a> last year, up from 5 per cent in 2015, according to the Central Statistics Office.<\/p>\n

Speaking from the floor, Mark Walsh, an associate professor in maths at Maynooth University, said the drive for more data centres was \u201cmostly fuelled by the AI arms race\u201d and led by \u201ca tiny number of ultra wealthy individuals\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are essentially Bond-villain capitalists … the Musks, the Bezoses, the Zuckerbergs.\u201d <\/p>\n

While he singled out men who own the world\u2019s biggest tech companies, Walsh said: \u201cPublic enemy number one in terms of driving data centres upon us is the current occupant of the White House.\u201d <\/p>\n

Noting that US president Donald Trump is due to come to Ireland next week, he called on \u201canyone who\u2019s opposed to data centres\u201d to protest against the visit. Many people cheered at this suggestion.<\/p>\n

Some in the crowd acknowledged that Ireland needed data centres in general but \u2013 as the Republic hosts 10 times the European per capita average <\/a>\u2013 said we already had more than our fair share.<\/p>\n

Several attendees were critical of the fact that certain land in Naas was zoned exclusively for data centres under the Local Area Plan 2021-2027. <\/p>\n

\"MayorMayor of Naas Bill Clear said the noise at the Clondalkin data centre ‘was almost like if you had tinnitus’. Photograph: \u00d3rla Ryan\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Mayor of Naas Bill Clear told the crowd he visited the site of the Clondalkin data centre on Wednesday, saying the whistling noise he heard \u201cwas almost like if you had tinnitus\u201d.<\/p>\n

As he spoke, some people shouted that he had previously supported land being zoned for data centres.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Irish Times after the event, the Independent Ireland<\/a> councillor said his view \u2013 and the public\u2019s view \u2013 of data centres had changed. He said there was once \u201cvery little pushback\u201d, but this was no longer the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one time in my life, I would have said, \u2018Look, we need it. We\u2019re all using our phones for this, that and the other, social media, TikTok, whatever. But then I went over and I saw what was in Clondalkin and I was absolutely shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clear will next week put forward a motion at Kildare County Council that proposes rezoning land earmarked for data centre for agricultural use. By his own admission, it is unlikely to pass. <\/p>\n

\"LocalsLocals Liz Denieffe and Louise Burchall are against the proposed data centres in Naas. Photograph: \u00d3rla Ryan\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Local woman Liz Denieffe said awareness about data centres had grown in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s noise pollution, water, electricity, I think people are really getting a much deeper understanding of what these data centres mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denieffe added that \u201csome unpleasant things\u201d have been said about people who object to data centres.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think tonight shows the people who are objecting are highly informed … So it\u2019s not about being backward or not understanding. In fact, it\u2019s the opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very deep understanding of what\u2019s happening, and we just don\u2019t want them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was a collective gasp in the room when a map on a projector showed the size of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,5691,969,605,61,25919,60,3916,19380,2597,30110],"class_list":["post-614106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-data-centres","tag-donald-trump","tag-elon-musk","tag-ie","tag-independent-ireland","tag-ireland","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-kildare-county-council","tag-mark-zuckerberg","tag-naas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}