F E A T U R E
for these services accelerates, so too does the importance of the infrastructure behind them. In the UK for example, the government designated the Digital Infrastructure sector as Critical National Infrastructure in 2024.
Digital services exports have grown to € 278 billion per year, securing Ireland’ s position as the second-largest exporter of computer and IT services in the world. Consolidated international trade data shows that the European Union exports € 1.568 trillion in services to countries outside the bloc. Of this, Ireland holds a 21.3 % share, making it the single largest exporter of services in the EU, ahead of Germany( 15.3 %) and France( 12.8 %). This scale of output reflects a deeply embedded ecosystem. According to IDA Ireland, data centre operators employ 21,000 people, while adjacent sectors including construction, engineering, design and electrical services have created global competitive advantages.
That success has also brought challenges. Grid congestion in Dublin, drawn-out planning battles and questions about energy consumption have continued to make headlines at a time when AI-demand is accelerating. In parallel, Europe’ s data centre electricity requirements could more than double to over 230 TWh by 2035 and for Ireland, that projection could reach 30 % of the country’ s national supply by 2030. These figures are not simply statistics; they represent a structural shift in how energy systems must be planned, financed and managed.
There is a path forward. The Large Energy User Action Plan( LEAP), published January 2026, delivers exactly that framework which aligns investment in energy security and sustainability, making a shift from a reactive expansion to coordinated strategic development.
LEAP as the inflection point
LEAP represents a decisive turning point in Ireland’ s data centre trajectory. It sends a clear signal that the market is reopening, but under a more disciplined and integrated model which places equal weight on energy availability, grid stability and long term-sustainability.
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