It is something of a tautology to state that things only matter when they start to matter. Yet this is the case with the emerging data centre backlash in Ireland.

As the public and political backlash against data centres grows in the US, it is inevitable people in other countries will begin to react. Backlashes can be contagious.

Ireland holds the ignominious title of world leader in the percentage of metered electricity used by data centres nationally: 23 per cent. In the Dublin-Meath region, according to the Central Statistics Office, data centres consumed 50 per cent of all metered electricity as of 2024.

This figure was stated in the Dáil last June by then minister for climate, rnergy and the environment Darragh O’Brien.

There are two interesting timelines currently unfolding that are relevant to Ireland. One is how the pro-Big-Tech rightwing in the US is now echoing the Irish government’s past rhetoric on data centres. The other is how the Irish public is beginning to catch up with the contemporary global data centre backlash, which has become an election issue in the US in advance of the midterm elections in November.

The problem for the Irish Government is that these timelines – their past enthusiasm, and the public’s latent but now emerging scepticism – are beginning to collide.

Let’s look at the political rhetoric timeline first, with some examples of how the Magaverse is catching up on the data centre messaging of Ireland’s most pro-data centre party, Fine Gael.

Last week, the American conservative talk show host, Mark Levin, spoke about data centres on his show. Levin has five million followers on X and follows one person, Donald Trump. “All of a sudden data centres are the big bad bogeyman,” he said.

Where there is discord, nefarious actors may seek to capitalise

Earlier this year, Simon Harris used similar language, saying in the Dáil, “it’s easy to come in and kind of say the data centres are bad or make the data centres the bogeyman.”

The US president uses more colourful language. Referring to the benefits of data centres, Trump posted on his social media account, “Both the Taxes and the Jobs amount to LIQUID GOLD!” Framing the benefits of data centres in metaphorical terms by citing gold was also an aspect of past Fine Gael rhetoric.

Leo Varadkar equated the presence of data centres and the data they process and store as akin to having precious metals and gemstones in one’s backyard, saying in 2021: “It is gold, it is diamonds – why would you not want it to be stored in your country?”

Trump has also floated hypothetical negative consequences for those opposed to more data centres. “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame,” he posted on social media.

This messaging closely mirrors Paschal Donohoe’s remarks in 2022, when he used the veiled threat of job losses were data centres excluded from the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme, saying, “and for those opposition critics in Dáil Éireann who want to chase data centres out of Ireland, that is a quick journey to chasing jobs out of Ireland as well.”

Now let’s look at the other timeline: the backlash. This has been a long time coming in Ireland. Yet data centres, even though they are massive buildings, can feel sort of intangible to people. Constructed for the most part on the outskirts of Dublin city and across its commuter belt, many people may not even know what they’re looking at when they drive past these vast industrial buildings.

But last week, a report by Virgin Media’s Richard Chambers on the Echelon Hum – the noise that company’s data centre is reportedly emitting in Clondalkin in Dublin – was picked up by the rest of the Irish media. A highly irritating noise that disturbs people’s sleep? That’s something the public can grasp.

Also last week, a public meeting was held in Kildare about a planned data centre in Naas. An interesting thing happened at this meeting. The Mayor of Naas, Independent Ireland councillor Bill Clear, voiced his concerns about the Echelon Hum. Órla Ryan reported: “As he spoke, some people shouted that he had previously supported land being zoned for data centres.”

After the event, the councillor said his view – and the public’s view – of data centres had changed.

Where public figures stand on data centres will begin to matter more in Ireland as people become more aware of proposed and existing data centres in their communities.

Where there is discord, nefarious actors may seek to capitalise. Elon Musk’s platform, X, alleged it identified a Chinese bot-farm behind a couple of hundred accounts pushing anti-data centre messaging.

Can Musk be trusted?

He is building data centres after all. Authentic discourse can be artificially amplified. That doesn’t mean the backlash and its spread isn’t real. It suits those whose profits are rooted in more data centres being built to frame criticism as inauthentic, just as it suits those who have something to gain from public disgruntlement to potentially manipulate that.

But here’s something else to watch. In the new Dáil term, how is government going to sell significant legislative change to our electricity infrastructure?

The Government is seeking to privatise electricity infrastructure, which will allow data centres to connect to private energy sources, with the Private Wires Bill.

The Opposition parties will be primed. Government will be forced to defend how Ireland got here. It’s not just a hum that’s sounding, it’s the noise of a backlash. Why? Because things only matter when they start to matter.