In Ireland, this debate is being sharpened by the rapid growth in electricity demand from data centres, which are a critical pillar of the Irish economy and digital infrastructure. This reflects the expansion of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other data‑intensive services, all of which require significant and continuous power.

Notwithstanding this, nuclear energy remains a controversial and legally restricted source of electricity generation in Ireland, despite growing policy support, increased investment and ongoing technological developments across Europe. Against that backdrop, the energy demands of the digital economy are now a core driver of Ireland’s electricity demand profile, raising fundamental questions around how that demand can be met in a manner that is secure, affordable and consistent with climate targets.

Nuclear energy is also increasingly relevant at EU level, where the expansion of digital infrastructure is being treated as a matter of strategic importance and economic competitiveness, as reflected in the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act. The European Commission’s eighth Nuclear Illustrative Programme indicates that, in some countries, nuclear energy is an important component of decarbonisation, industrial competitiveness, and security of supply. It predicts that installed capacity across the EU will increase from 98 GWe in 2025 to around 109 GWe by 2050. It notes a growing interest in the development of small and advanced modular reactors (“SMRs” and “AMRs”) as well as microreactors worldwide. In the US, nuclear energy is the largest source of carbon-free electricity, and future growth strategy is centred on SMRs to support industrial decarbonisation.

While the levelised cost of energy for utility-scale wind and solar (as well as combined-cycle gas generation) is reportedly lower than that of new-build nuclear, there is a broader recognition that stable, dispatchable low-carbon generation may be required alongside renewables in systems with rapidly increasing and less flexible demand, such as that driven by data centres.

Legal position in Ireland

Ireland has a long-standing policy position against the domestic generation of electricity from nuclear fission, enshrined in law as follows.

• Section 37K of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed as enabling the authorisation of development consisting of an installation for the generation of electricity by nuclear fission. This is replicated at section 182 of the Planning and Development Act 2024, which is not yet commenced.

• Section 16(1) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 prohibits a person from constructing or reconstructing a generating station for the purpose of supply to “final customers” (customers who purchase electricity for own use) unless an appropriate authorisation has been granted by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (the “CRU”). Section 18(1) requires the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to specify by order the criteria under which an application for an authorisation can be determined by the CRU, and section 18(6) prevents such an order from providing for the use of nuclear fission for the generation of electricity.

Taken together, these provisions effectively prohibit domestic nuclear power generation. The prohibition relating to nuclear fission does not extend to consumption of electricity generated from nuclear sources abroad, and nuclear power is consumed to the extent that it forms part of the energy mix imported to Ireland over interconnectors.

Beyond the current prohibitions, if Ireland were to change policy course, it would need to develop a dedicated legal, regulatory and investment framework for nuclear power generation. Ireland would be subject to additional obligations under the Euratom legal framework (to which it is already subject as an EU Member State).

Ireland does have a regulatory framework for radiation protection and compliance with international nuclear safety obligations, particularly as regards transit of radioactive materials and response to emergencies.

• Radiological protection is governed mainly by the Radiological Protection Acts 1991-2018 and further regulations, which cover licensing, occupational exposure, and transport of radioactive materials. This is the main framework transposing relevant Euratom radiation protection legislation. Ireland is bound by Regulation (Euratom) 1493/93 on shipments of radioactive substances between Member States (to the extent it continues to apply), and there are further domestic instruments concerning transport and shipments of radiological waste. These include:
  • European Communities (Supervision and Control of Certain Shipments of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel) Order 2009 which implement Council Directive 2006/117/Euratom laying down conditions for the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and spent fuel between Member States and into and out of the Community, and
  • Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Act 1998 and Regulations giving effect to the European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road and various Council Directives.

• The regulatory authority is the Environmental Protection Agency which houses an Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring and Radiological Protection Advisory Committee. Preparation for emergencies is dealt with under the National Strategic Emergency Management Framework and National Plan for Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Exposures.

• At international level, Ireland is a party to International Atomic Energy Agency conventions such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety and Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste.

EU position on nuclear energy

In March 2026, the European Commission published a Strategy for Small Modular Reactors which we looked at as part of our briefing: EU package on energy independence and affordability: What it signals for the energy sector. The Strategy sets out actions to deploy the first European SMR projects by the early 2030s, emphasising a unified approach among EU countries, industry, regulators, and investors. Further information is available here: Commission unveils strategy to bring Europe’s first SMRs online by the early 2030s – Energy.

In June 2025, the Commission published an Eighth Nuclear Illustrative Programme. The Commission indicated that a ‘base-case’ scenario requires investment of around €241 billion for large reactors and lifetime extensions, plus additional billions for SMRs, AMRs, and fusion. A new Clean Industrial Deal State aid framework also included nuclear fission energy technologies and other nuclear technologies as net-zero technologies for the purposes of aid to ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity in clean technologies.

The European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors has also developed a Strategic Action Plan focused on facilitating the development, demonstration, and deployment of SMRs in Europe by the early 2030s.

The wider policy backdrop was the 2025 Clean Industrial Deal, which we considered in our briefing here: Clean Industrial Deal: Crucial Role of the Energy Sector.

Look ahead

At an EU level, the European Commission plans to develop a Fusion Strategy.

Ireland’s current policy framework remains clear in that there is no role for nuclear identified in either the Programme for Government (2025) or the National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030. However, a number of structural pressures are converging, namely rapidly increasing electricity demand; EU policy actively encouraging expansion of digital infrastructure including through the legislative proposal for a Cloud and AI Development Act; decarbonisation targets requiring low-carbon generation at scale; and security of supply concerns, particularly in periods of system stress. 

As a result, there is a growing debate, reflected in industry analysis and commentary at Oireachtas level (with an Electricity Regulation (Removal of Nuclear Fission Prohibitions) Bill 2026 to be brought before the Oireachtas), as to whether Ireland may need to keep its position under review, particularly in relation to emerging technologies such as SMRs, as part of a contingency plan for achieving net zero by 2050.