A planning application has been submitted for the construction of a €1.2 billion data centre for the outskirts of Ennis.
The development, if approved, would create 250 permanent data centre jobs, along with 1,200 construction jobs and 600 induced jobs in support services.
The campus would cover 145 acres on a site on the Tulla Road with the aim to begin construction in late 2022 over a phased six-year period.
The news has been welcomed by Clare Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crow.
This is a massively significant development for Co. Clare. Clare County Council’s Ennis 2040 Economic Plan identified a data centre as a key target for the area, with potential to significantly boost economic development not only for the county town but Clare as a whole.
We are increasingly seeing these major facilities being planned for locations outside of Dublin and I have long held the belief that we are ideally suited to such developments here in the Midwest region, with an international airport on our doorstep and so many existing industries,” he said.
“The development of this data centre will, I hope, proceed without any impediment and also encourage other major developers to look our direction. In addition, the new offshore windfarm proposed for Moneypoint can provide huge additional electricity capacity for Ireland, which is a requirement for this type of data centre.
There’s more and more potential offshore to not only help Ireland achieve carbon neutral status by 2050 but to also attract data centres and other large multinational companies that want energy security but also energy generated in an ethical and sustainable way. Clare is emerging as a leader for these future developments and it’s vital that we continue to strike while the iron is hot,” Deputy Crowe added.
