950. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the measures in place to ensure that large-scale industrial developments, including data centres, operate in a manner that supports the State's climate, energy and water sustainability objectives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56437/26]

Ireland has a proven record in attracting and developing high-value, cutting edge industry to locate and invest across our regions, including within energy intensive sectors such as data centres, manufacturing, life sciences and semiconductors. These create sustainable regional employment, drive innovation, attract FDI at scale, and contribute to our national prosperity

Accommodating energy-intensive industrial investments has become increasingly complex in recent years, with electricity demand in some instances having outstripped the delivery pace of key enabling infrastructure, such as dispatchable and renewables generation, storage, and energy networks. These challenges are also increasingly evident in other European countries.

To attract the next generation of investment in strategic energy-intensive sectors like we must deliver energy infrastructure much faster than in recent decades, and plan better for these industrial developments.

The Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP) approved by Government in January is a medium-term plan that seeks to enable Ireland to attract next generation investment in energy intensive sectors associated with the greatest future strategic economic opportunities, such as semiconductors, very large manufacturers, pharmaceuticals and digital technology enablers such as data centres. It will likewise ensure that continued industrial development is aligned with Government’s renewable energy and climate objectives, as well as other strategic priorities such as the provision of housing and water.

The approach outlined in LEAP will seek to address growth barriers currently impacting these developments, including the availability of key enabling energy infrastructure. It does this by planning spatially for coordinated infrastructure delivery to co-locate the most energy-intensive LEU sectors with the supply of renewables, efficient infrastructure and other enabling technologies. Accordingly, a key pillar of LEAP is the development of green energy parks, that co-locate energy intensive industry with the supply of indigenous renewable energy and other enabling technologies.