213. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to outline the importance of digital infrastructure, including data centres, to the Irish economy. [66520/26]

Ireland's digital economy is a major driver of economic growth, productivity, exports, competitiveness, investment, employment and tax revenues.

Computer services exports for example exceeded €300 billion in 2025, accounting for approximately 61 per cent of all services exports and almost 40 per cent of Ireland's total exports. This highlights the importance of digital infrastructure in supporting national competitiveness and export performance as these exports depend on resilient telecommunications networks, international connectivity, subsea cables, cloud services and data centres that enable the storage, processing and transmission of digital information.

The Information and Communication services sector (which includes telecommunications, software and IT services, digital platforms and data services, and media activities) employed approximately 170,000 people at the beginning of 2026, representing around 6 per cent of total employment. The sector generated approximately €1.7 billion in VAT receipts in 2025, making it the third-largest contributing sector to internal VAT. It also contributed approximately €11.2 billion in Corporation Tax receipts in 2025, accounting for more than one fifth of all Corporation Tax receipts that year, highlighting its significant fiscal importance to Ireland's economy. This reflects Ireland's position as a leading European hub for technology and digital services, which is supported by the digital infrastructure that underpins these activities.

However, the importance of digital infrastructure extends far beyond the Information and Communication services sector. Businesses across the economy increasingly rely on high-quality digital connectivity, cloud computing and data processing capabilities to support day-to-day operations, innovation, productivity improvements and engagement with customers and suppliers. As digital technologies become more deeply embedded in business activity, access to reliable digital infrastructure is becoming a key determinant of competitiveness across a broad range of sectors. Digital infrastructure also underpins the delivery of public services across Government, supporting areas such as healthcare, education, social protection, taxation and public administration. It is a critical enabler of the Government's ambition to achieve full digitalisation of key public services by 2030, as set out in the Digital Public Services Plan 2030.

A recent study commissioned by my Department identified six sectors with the greatest dependency on data centres: ICT Services, Financial and Insurance Activities, Human Health and Social Work, Transportation and Storage, Wholesale and Retail Trade, and Professional Services. The research estimated that, in 2024, data centres located in Ireland enabled economic activity worth approximately €100 billion in gross value added across these sectors, supported around 875,000 jobs and an estimated €14.6 billion in annual employment-related tax revenues.

These findings highlight the role of data centres as enabling infrastructure supporting economic activity across a broad range of sectors - though recognising that data centres are one element of the broader digital infrastructure ecosystem that collectively enable the secure and efficient movement, storage and processing of data within Ireland and internationally.

The Government's digital and artificial intelligence strategy recognises digital infrastructure as a critical foundation for future economic growth and competitiveness. Robust digital infrastructure is increasingly important in enabling enterprises in Ireland to adopt artificial intelligence technologies and to develop, deploy and scale AI-enabled products, services and business processes.

The growing importance of artificial intelligence globally means that access to reliable digital infrastructure is increasingly becoming a key consideration for firms when making investment and location decisions. Maintaining and strengthening these foundations will help Ireland attract and retain high-value foreign direct investment while supporting the continued growth of internationally traded, technology-intensive and digitally enabled sectors of the economy.

The importance of digital infrastructure is also increasingly recognised at European level, as reflected in the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act. The proposal highlights the need for greater investment in digital infrastructure, including cloud and data centre capacity, to support the development and deployment of artificial intelligence and to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and technological resilience.

Taken together, these indicators demonstrate the central role that digital infrastructure plays in supporting Ireland's economy. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded across the economy, digital infrastructure will remain a critical enabler of enterprise adoption and innovation, supporting future productivity growth, competitiveness and economic prosperity in an increasingly digital and AI-enabled global economy.