Claude (Anthropic's model) read every document in the corpus with a fixed, published prompt and recorded, for each speaker: a stance on more data-centre development in Ireland (from −2, stop or pause, to +2, champion; or none when they took no position), up to four concerns from a fixed list, what they asked for, a one-sentence summary and a quote. Every quote was then checked word for word against the source text; quotes that could not be found were dropped. Counts, averages and concern shares are computed from those records, not by the model. A second prompt wrote each group's summary from its records only. Parliamentary questions are mostly factual, so most askers get no stance; their concerns still count. Party averages weight each speaker once. Ministers' answers count towards the government of the day, not their party.
- Machine reading: summaries and stance scores are Claude's reading of the text, checked by quote, not by a person line by line. Treat them as a guide and follow the links.
- Coverage: parliamentary questions and debates are those whose heading mentions data centres (since 2015). Speeches on data centres under other headings (energy, climate, Leaders' Questions) are not yet included.
- Companies speak through the CRU consultation (2025) and committee hearings. Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta did not respond individually; their trade bodies (Cloud Infrastructure Ireland, Ibec, AmCham) did.
- Councils speak through their development plans and, for South Dublin, a CRU response. Councillors' motions are not yet read.
- Party is the member's party on the day they spoke (Oireachtas members data). Government terms use the dates the Taoiseach was elected (unchecked).
Corpus: 464 Oireachtas questions and debates, 8 council plan documents, 64 CRU consultation responses. 7 not yet read. Model: claude-opus-5-5. Prompt versions: extract 4914c9064c, summary 6d632738a0.
The reading prompt
You are reading public Irish documents about data centres for a neutral, data-led publication. Each document is split by speaker. For every speaker, record what they think about data centres in Ireland, using only what that speaker says in this document. Do not use what you know about the person, party or organisation from elsewhere.
## What to record for each speaker
- **a**: the speaker's id from the document (`a1`, `a2`, …).
- **skip**: `true` if the speaker says nothing of substance about data centres (procedure, thanks, or an answer about an unrelated question grouped in the same section). Then leave the other fields empty or null.
- **stance**: the speaker's position on more data-centre development in Ireland (new or bigger data centres and their grid, gas or water connections):
- `-2` **Stop or pause**: calls for a moratorium, a ban, or no new data-centre connections.
- `-1` **Restrict**: wants tighter limits or slower growth, or is mainly critical, without calling for a stop.
- `0` **Balanced**: weighs benefits and costs without leaning either way, or accepts data centres only on strict conditions.
- `1` **Supportive**: welcomes data centres and wants the system to accommodate them, with conditions (renewables, location, efficiency).
- `2` **Champion**: argues strongly for growth, faster connections or fewer barriers.
- `null`: the speaker takes no position. Most parliamentary questions only ask for facts: give `null` unless the asker states a view in their own words. A question that asks *whether* the Minister will do something is not a view.
Ministers answering for the government usually state the government line; score that line, not the person.
- **concerns**: up to four keys from this list, the issues the speaker raises as a problem or priority (not passing mentions), most emphasised first:
`bills` electricity bills and costs · `grid` grid capacity, security of supply, blackouts · `climate` climate targets and emissions · `gas` gas supply and gas-fired or diesel on-site generation · `renewables` renewable power for data centres, PPAs, matching · `water` water use · `local` local impact, planning, zoning, noise, land · `jobs` jobs, investment, competitiveness, FDI · `tax` tax, rates, community benefit · `heat` waste-heat reuse and efficiency · `fairness` fair access to the grid or water for homes, housing and other users · `rules` connection rules, regulatory certainty, process · `regional` location outside Dublin, regional spread · `transparency` transparency, disclosure, data · `ai` AI, the digital economy, digital sovereignty · `security` national security, cyber security, critical infrastructure.
- **asks**: up to three concrete things the speaker wants done, each 12 words or fewer (for example "moratorium on new data-centre grid connections", "publish metered use by site", "faster connection offers for projects with on-site renewables"). Empty if none.
- **summary**: one plain-English sentence of 30 words or fewer saying what the speaker thinks or wants. Neutral reporting voice ("Wants…", "Says…", "Asks…"). No judgement words. For a factual question, say what they asked about.
- **quote**: 8 to 40 words copied exactly, character for character, from this speaker's own text in this document: one continuous passage, no changes, no ellipses, no added quotation marks. Choose the passage that best shows their view. For a question, prefer the substantive part over "asked the Minister for…". It will be checked automatically against the source; a quote that is not exact is thrown away.
- **org** and **orgType**: only for speakers of type `witness`. The organisation they represent, from the chair's introduction in the context or from their own words (for example "Commission for Regulation of Utilities"), and one of `state`, `industry`, `energy`, `business`, `campaign`, `council`, `academic`, `other`. Null for everyone else.
## Rules
- Report; don't judge. Don't soften or sharpen what people say. Don't infer a stance from party or employer.
- A council development plan is the council speaking: score the plan's policy (where data centres may go and on what conditions).
- A consultation response is the organisation speaking: score its overall position on data-centre growth, not only on the narrow rule being consulted on.
- Return one entry for every speaker id in the document, in order.
The summary prompt
You are writing very short, neutral summaries for a data-led publication on Irish data centres. Readers skim: keep every line short. You get one group (a party, a government, a politician, a company or trade body, a council, a State body or a campaign group) and the records of what it said, each already read from a public document: id, date, kind of document, speaker, stance (−2 stop or pause, −1 restrict, 0 balanced, 1 supportive, 2 champion, or null for no position), concerns, asks, a one-sentence summary and, where checked, a verbatim quote.
Write, using only these records:
- **headline**: 10 words or fewer, the group's position in plain words (for example "Wants a pause until the grid catches up"). No slogans, no judgement.
- **points**: two or three bullets, each 14 words or fewer, no full stop at the end. What the group wants and its main reasons. If the records are mostly factual questions with no stance, say what it keeps asking about rather than inventing a view.
- **quoteIds**: the ids of up to two records whose quotes best show the position, from different speakers or dates where possible. Prefer short, plain quotes. Only choose records whose quote is not null.
- **shift**: 15 words or fewer on how the position changed over time, only if the records clearly show a change across at least two years; otherwise null.
Rules: report, don't judge; no adjectives like "sensible", "extreme", "reckless". Don't add facts that are not in the records. Irish and British spelling. For a government, describe the government's line, not the parties'. For a single-document group (one consultation response or one plan), summarise that document.