Data Centre Chief Compares Critics to Brexiteers and Blames Disinformation
Published
Ronan Kelly, the chief of Digital Infrastructure Ireland, has compared critics of data centres in Ireland to Brexiteers, the people who supported the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. His comments were reported by tech-insider.org in a 2026 article marking ten years since the Brexit campaign.
Data centres are large buildings full of computer servers that store and process digital information, such as websites, cloud services and online applications. Ireland hosts a large number of these facilities, and many of them are run by international technology companies. Because they use a lot of electricity and land, they have become a subject of public debate in recent years.
In his remarks, Mr Kelly suggested that some opposition to data centres is based on misleading or false information. He described the spread of disinformation as a major factor in shaping public views on the issue. The reported comments link the debate about data centres to the political arguments that surrounded Brexit, when many people felt that misinformation influenced the result of the 2016 referendum.
The article does not give a full account of the responses from data centre critics or from government bodies. Readers who want to follow the discussion further may wish to look at more detailed coverage of the planning, energy and environmental issues linked to data centres in Ireland.
Sources: tech-insider.org
More Ireland news
- Former Silicon Valley Insider Warns US Tech Giants Could Erase Ireland's Gains
- AI Creates New Cybersecurity Opportunities for Irish IT Firms, Research Finds
- Dublin Conference to Address Tech-Facilitated Sexual Violence
- Influencer Boxing Event in Kilkenny Ends in Chaos, Raising Concerns for Tourism
- Nearly 50 European Leaders Gather in Dublin for Major Summit
- Major Traffic Disruption Expected in Dublin as EU-Led Summits Approach
- Plans to Charge Asylum Seekers for Accommodation Delayed as Committee Calls for Contract Review
- Sinn Féin Calls for Referendum on State Pension Triple Lock