Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he plans to “delve into” the circumstances of Amazon scrapping its €300 million plans to build a large industrial plant in Dublin, over difficulties securing electricity supply.
The move has closed off the prospect of more than 500 jobs being created in the proposed plant at Ballycoolin in northwest Dublin, near the Co Meath border, where Amazon already has a large base.
“ESB Networks were saying that they hadn’t concluded any engagement with the company, so I’d have to delve a bit more into the background of this as to what exactly happened in relation to this specific case,” Mr Martin said.
The Government had been clear about the need for “significant investment” in the country’s energy grid, to meet the demands of the expanding economy, Mr Martin said.
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“We have real issues now in terms of utilities, that’s why the Government and the National Development Plan (NDP) have pivoted to very strong investment in our utilities”.
Speaking to The Irish Times in Luxembourg, at the end of an official two-day visit, Mr Martin said water supply, public transport infrastructure and the energy grid were “absolutely essential” to economic growth.
Amazon’s cloud computing unit AWS, wanted the new site for making high-tech server racks, a form of specialist shelving used in data centres that drive artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Data centres are buildings that house energy-intensive computer systems for storing internet and business data.
Regulators have imposed curbs on new data centres in the Republic because of the electricity shortage.
But failure to provide Amazon with electricity surprised people familiar with the plan because prospective power demand from the proposed plant, which was not a data centre, was considered relatively modest.
The AWS plan had Government support, while Fingal County Council planning permission for the 23,600sq m site – with 562 car-parking spaces – was in place since 2022.
IDA Ireland, the inward investment agency, saw the project as a good way of positioning the State to take advantage of the next wave of AI technology.
However, Amazon stopped the AWS investment when ESB Networks said there was no scope to provide an electricity connection within the company’s time frame because of constraints in power networks in that area.
“AWS was disappointed that it did not prove possible to proceed with this project. If conditions allow, we do hope to be able to make other high-tech investments elsewhere in Ireland,” said Amazon.
Replying to questions, ESB Networks said it “can confirm that it was in discussions and progressing a feasibility assessment with the developer for works to connect a server recycling facility, not a data centre, to the distribution system – the initial connection was required in 2027”.
The State-owned company added: “ESB Networks was still actively working on this with the developer up until the decision was taken not to proceed in Dublin.”
Days after the Cabinet signed off on a €100 billion plan to boost national infrastructure between now and 2030, Amazon’s move highlights how serious limitations on the power network are hampering industry.
The revised NDP includes €3.5 billion for new electricity grid infrastructure.
With Ireland’s economic model already under threat from US president Donald Trump’s plan for steep tariffs on European Union trade, the Amazon case is likely to raise fresh concerns about Dublin’s capacity for new multinational industrial investment.
This is in addition to water and electricity constraints that have held back the delivery of new homes.
The proposed AWS plant was seen in Government circles as a serious investment project, not least because Amazon has invested some €22 billion in Ireland since 2004. The company employs 6,500 people in the State.
There was no IDA Ireland comment. Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke said while he could not comment on individual projects, “I can confirm that [the] Government and IDA continues to work closely with companies who are seeking to invest in Ireland.”
Citing electricity-grid money in the National Development Plan, Mr Burke added: “I am acutely aware of access to energy infrastructure, which may have been a barrier to development in specific locations, for specific types of industrial investment.”
EirGrid, the State-owned operator of the national grid, said it does not comment on individual connection requests or offers for confidentiality reasons. “However, we note that the case in question was not related to a request to connect to the transmission system [EirGrid].”
