A public meeting was held on Thursday night about plans to build large data centres in Naas, Co. Kildare.
As reported by The Irish Times, there was a collective gasp when a map was shown at the meeting of the size of the area that would be impacted by the noise of the planned data centre.
Reports have confirmed that people who live 2km away from the data centre in Clondalkin have been complaining about the noise levels, with many stating that they are unable to sleep due to the constant hum.
Planners granted permission for a high profile €3 billion data centre complex next to the M7 motorway and business park in Naas last year, however the future of this storage facility remains uncertain.
According to The Irish Times, Kildare County Council gave the go-ahead in August 2025, with many conditions that related to energy use. Just a month after this, environmental groups launched an appeal against the decision due to the significant impacts data centres have on our environment.
“If you think about Clondalkin, where they are now – the residents are complaining, they can’t sleep at night-time, and it’s built. That data centre is not going anywhere,” Krystle Foley, of the Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign, told the hundred of people who gathered for the public meeting.
“We’re on the other side. We’ve got areas that are zoned for data centres, but the data centres aren’t built," she added.
An associate professor at Maynooth University, Mark Walsh, attended the meeting, he stated that the recent drive for more data centres was fuelled by the "AI arms race" and was led by a "tiny number of ultra wealthy individuals”.
Walsh called out a number of men who own huge tech companies and highlighted US President Donald Trump. “Public enemy number one in terms of driving data centres upon us is the current occupant of the White House," Walsh said.
With Trump due to visit Ireland next week, Walsh urged those who opposed to the data centres to protest against them.
As it stands, the Republic of Ireland currently hosts times the European per capita average, according to The Irish Times, so those that attended the meeting argued that we had more than our fair share.
