CONSUMER
Irish Internet access now at 41 percent
04-10-2000
by Aoidin Scully
Forty-one percent of Irish people now have Internet access, according to the latest research carried out for the Information Society Commission.
That's an eight percent year-on-year increase, up from 33 percent last year and just five percent four years ago. The survey was conducted by MRBI on behalf of the Commission in June and July this year.
The findings are in contrast to a June report by Amárach Consulting, which found that only 25 percent of Irish adults use the Internet - equivalent to 679,000 people. However, newer technologies such as WAP fared less well with only four percent of those surveyed ever having used a WAP phone.
The research highlights Ireland's progress towards becoming a fully developed information society, with 36 percent of the general public having access to e-mail, and 47 percent to a PC or a laptop computer, said the Commission.
"The results clearly show that Ireland is on the right track in terms of developing as an Information Society," said Vivienne Jupp, chairman of the Commission. "All the indicators show that access to, and usage of, new technology is steadily increasing."
The research showed significant demand for Internet access to government services, including passport applications and renewals, drivers' licence applications and renewals and payment of car tax. However, the overall level of interest in e-commerce services remains low, with just 18 percent of all Internet users having used the Web to buy or book anything within the last year.
A recent survey by the Irish Internet Association, however, found that the number of people buying on-line has quadrupled since 1999 to 62 percent of Irish surfers.
Predictably, usage is highest among the young, urban middle classes and, in particular, the ABC1 group which makes up 76 percent of early adopters, the latest survey suggests. The DEF segment of the population accounts for 49 percent of late adopters, with less than half of skilled manual workers familiar with PCs, and only 47 percent of people trained in new technology.
Despite this, 88 percent of those surveyed believed that children will need to be familiar with information and communications technology to get a job.
"It is clear that there are still problems that need to be considered. We are no nearer to bridging the 'digital divide' that has emerged between different sections of society," said Jupp. "Greater competition in the communications market will be an important factor in lowering access costs and unbundling of the local loop must happen as soon as possible in order to speed up this process," she added.
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