This is the CSO's fourth report on information society statistics. It brings together a range of statistics from CSO surveys on ICT usage by households and businesses; statistics compiled by ComReg and international comparisons compiled by Eurostat and the OECD.
Increasing use of ICT by Households
- An estimated 867,500 households (or 59%) had a home computer in Spring 2006 compared to 797,700 households (or 55%) in 2005. Just over 83% of households with a home computer used it to connect to the internet.
- An estimated 935,600 people used a computer every day or almost every day while an estimated 638,500 people in Ireland used the internet at least once a day.
- The most popular activities on the internet relate to (1) Information search and online services, (2) Communication (e-mail) and (3) Interaction with public authorities.
- The most common internet purchases are (1) Travel and holiday accommodation, (2) Tickets for events and (3) Books/magazines/newspapers/e-learning material.
- An estimated 50% of households in Ireland had an internet connection compared with the EU average of 52%. The Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden had the highest percentages, with more than three quarters of households connected to the internet.
Broadband
- The number of broadband subscribers increased from 176,300 in the second quarter of 2005 to 372,200 in the corresponding quarter of 2006. The number of metered dial-up internet subscribers decreased from 542,000 to 487,000 over the same period.
- An estimated 26% of households in Ireland with internet access used broadband compared to the EU average of 62%.
Use of ICT in Business
- Virtually all businesses in Ireland use computers and have access to e-mail and the internet.
- An estimated 64% of businesses have a website and primarily use it to market their products and make catalogues and price lists available.
- The survey shows that 28% of enterprises had sales using e-commerce, which accounted for 17% of total turnover. Almost 60% of businesses have made purchases using e-commerce, which accounted for 10% of total purchases.
Human resources in ICT
- There were almost 11,000 full-time and part-time computing students in 2004.
- Three quarters of computing students are male, although the third level student population is 55% female.
- Just over 4% of all PhDs awarded in 2004 were in computing.
Irish mobile users send 4.4 billion text messages
- In 2005, Irish mobile users sent 4.4 billion text messages. This equates to 1,053 messages per person.
- The number of mobile voice minutes was 5.7 billion.
- In the second quarter of 2005, there were 4.4 million mobile subscribers, giving a mobile penetration rate of 103%.
- Total revenue in the telecommunications sector in 2005 was €3.9 billion.
The publication can be purchased from the
Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork
or
Government Publications Sale Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.
Price: €10.00
The report is also available free of charge on the CSO website www.cso.ie
For further information contact:
Business Statistics Integration Division
Central Statistics Office
Phone: Locall 1890 313 414 / (021) 453 5501 / (021) 453 5503 / (021) 453 5521
Fax: (021) 453 5553
E-mail: bsi@cso.ie
20 December 2006
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