Why this information is hard to get. Operators treat power, water, generator
and discharge details as commercially sensitive. Many large applications bypass the local council
and go straight to An Coimisiún Pleanála — where the public is told about
pre-application consultation but cannot take part in it, and where making a submission carries a fee.
The Government-commissioned KPMG report gave very limited treatment to noise, water and community
impact. So this map is built from what citizens can find.
A note from experience — why this sheet exists. When you fill a form
like this in live, and one answer sends you off looking — a planning reference, a number
buried in a PDF, a licence you have to hunt for — the page can time out while you're away.
You come back, and what you'd typed is gone. It's happened to me, and it's maddening enough to
make you give up altogether.
So don't fight it. Gather your answers here first — print this sheet, or
write them in a notes app — at your own pace, with no clock running. When you're ready, open
the form and paste them in. It takes minutes once the answers are in front of you. After you submit,
glance for the “Saved” note before you close the tab — that's your
confirmation it landed.
Why this form and not a Google one: it's on CryptPad, which is end-to-end
encrypted and doesn't mine your data. Given we're asking people to report on facilities near their
homes, that mattered to us.
You don't have to answer everything. This form gives options for a deep dive,
for those who are investigatively minded. But if you've simply got the time or the answers for one
or two parts, that is genuinely enough — and your effort in taking part is greatly appreciated.
Two ways to leave a question:leave it blank for anything you
haven't the time for or don't have — no need to mark it. Write NOT
PUBLISHED only when you looked and the information simply isn't available anywhere public.
Those are different, and the second one is a finding in itself.
This map is
built from what citizens can find. Every entry carries its source, or is publicly flagged
as needing one.
Please don't include health information
Not anywhere on this form. It is published publicly, and publishing health accounts can damage a
future legal case. Keep your own records instead — dates, letters, prescriptions — and
keep the originals yourself.
Names are often hidden, or the site is listed under a different company.
4. Status
Operating / Planned / Under construction / Unknown
5. Link to a planning file, news article or official document
Please add one if you have it. No link? Tell us the site and we'll look — a planning reference number on its own is useful too.
6. Is it called something else?
Common ones: digital hub, battery storage / energy storage, industrial unit, logistics park, warehouse, technology park, business park, data facility, cloud campus, digital infrastructure, energy park, green energy park, microgrid, or a “project” name only.
The deeper dive — for the investigatively minded
On these, if you looked and couldn't find it, write
NOT PUBLISHED. That's different from skipping — it
tells us the information should be public and isn't, which is a finding in itself.
7. Power — grid connection or megawatt capacity, if stated anywhere
Look for MW, MVA, or “grid connection agreement.” It sometimes appears in the planning file or in an EirGrid or ESB Networks document rather than on the company's own website.
If you looked and couldn't find it: NOT PUBLISHED — a blank record is a finding too.
8. Water taken in — daily or annual volume, if published
Usually litres or cubic metres per day. Note whether it comes from the public mains or from the site's own well, borehole, river or lake — that difference matters, and it's rarely stated plainly.
If you looked and couldn't find it: NOT PUBLISHED — a blank record is a finding too.
9. Water put back out — the outfall
Volume, temperature, and anything about what's in it. Cooling systems commonly discharge water warmer than they took it, and often with treatment chemicals — biocides, anti-scalants, corrosion inhibitors. Where does it go? A river, an estuary, the sewer?
If you looked and couldn't find it: NOT PUBLISHED — a blank record is a finding too.
10. Location of the outfall — where does the discharge actually enter the water?
A grid reference or coordinates if you have them, or just a description: “into the river about 200m below the bridge,” “into the estuary at the eastern boundary.” Discharge points are usually named in a licence or discharge consent, sometimes with a reference like SW1 or E1. Dated photographs are welcome.
If you go to look: from public ground or your own property only. No trespass, daylight, and tell someone where you're going.
If you looked and couldn't find it: NOT PUBLISHED — a blank record is a finding too.
11. Backup generators and on-site gas — what's on the record
How many backup diesel generators, and their capacity if stated. Any on-site gas generation. Any stacks or flues. These sometimes appear in the planning file or the site's licence.
If you looked and couldn't find it: NOT PUBLISHED — a blank record is a finding too.
12. Generator testing — what you've seen or heard
Backup generators are tested on a schedule, and a test is the moment a site is loudest and smokiest. If you've witnessed one: the date, the start and finish time, what you could hear, see or smell, and which way the wind was blowing. A dated note of testing hours is a factual record in its own right.
13. Air emissions — what comes out, and from where
Where are the stacks, flues or vents, and can you see them from public ground? Any visible exhaust or plume, any smell, and how far it carries. If the site holds an emissions or industrial licence, it may set limits on what the stacks are permitted to release — a reference or a link is gold.
Same as the outfall: public ground or your own property only, daylight, tell someone where you're going.
If you looked and couldn't find it: NOT PUBLISHED — a blank record is a finding too.
Noise and light
14. Noise — anything measured, or anything noticed
If anyone has taken readings: dB(A), dB(C), and the time of day. Night-time (L-night) matters most. Say whether it was a proper sound level meter or a phone app — both welcome, they're just recorded differently. If you haven't measured but you can hear it: when do you hear it, where in the house, is it a steady hum or a whine, does it stop and start? Does it wake you?
15. Light — anything measured, or anything noticed
If anyone has taken readings: brightness in lux at your position, or night-sky brightness if you have a sky-quality meter. Note which direction you were facing and whether the light source is directly visible. If you haven't measured but you can see it: where does the light fall, is it on all night, does it come through your curtains, can you see the source from your home? A dated photo taken from the same spot each night is strong evidence on its own — no equipment needed.