The survey is conducted annually and covers a range of topics related to internet penetration and the use of ICT by households and individuals.
The annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey 2025 contributes to the EU requirement under Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples, amending Regulations (EC) No 808/2004, (EC) No 452/2008, and (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98.
The ICT Household Survey 2025 was designed in line with the European Community Survey on ICT Usage in Households and by Individuals 2025 Model Questionnaire. The survey is harmonised across EU member states and meets EU regulation requirements to allow comparability of results published by other countries. The specific data requirements of the survey are defined annually through a consultation process with users and policy makers within Eurostat and EU member states. Once the details of the survey requirements have been agreed, an annual implementing regulation is passed to turn the requirements into EU law. The CSO engages in this annual consultation process and in the development of the questionnaire for each year. The collection of the data under the aforementioned European Regulation implies that harmonised data can be obtained across all EU member states.
Data in this domain is collected annually by the National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) and is based on the aforementioned Eurostat's annual Model Questionnaire on ICT usage in households and by individuals. The Eurostat Model Questionnaire has a core set of questions, which are asked on an annual basis. Additional modules on ICT are repeated annually, biennially, or triennially. In addition, special modules or topics on new emerging concepts or technologies are also included each year. In 2025, additional modules were included, such as on the privacy and protection of personal data and the integrity and trustworthiness of data on the internet (a similar module was asked in 2023) were included. A new set of questions on hostile/degrading content online was for the first time introduced in 2025. The results of these modules were covered in the ‘Household Internet Security’ publication, which was published on 19th December 2025.
The publication ‘Digital Interactions with Public Services’ published 11th February 2026 focusses on the modules ‘Use of e-Government’ and ‘Use of electronic identification’. The module on ‘Use of e-Government’ is part of the core set of questions on the survey questionnaire. This module asks about the usage of websites or apps provided by public authorities (such as Government and/or judicial bodies at national, regional, or local level) and the use of public services over the internet. The module has been expanded over recent years to investigate the uptake of different types of contact and interaction with e-Government services, from more basic services to more advanced ones.
Electronic identification (eID) is one of the tools for ensuring secure access to such online services and carrying out electronic transactions more securely, including to e-Government services. The module ‘Use of electronic identification' (e-ID) was first introduced in the survey in 2023 and is a biennial module (asked again in 2025). The module focuses on more advanced eIDs (including at least two-factor authentication - respondent would have to undergo two stages of authentication to access online services with those types of eIDs) which can be used to access services such as e-Government applications (services). The results of this module are also covered in this publication.
The ICT Household Survey 2025 was designed in line with the European Community Survey on ICT Usage in Households and by Individuals 2025 Model Questionnaire. Data given in this domain are collected annually by the National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) and are based on Eurostat's annual Model Questionnaire on ICT usage in households and by individuals. The collection of the data under the aforementioned European Regulation implies that harmonised data can be obtained across the European continent.
The ICT Household Survey was based on the implementing Regulation (EU) No. 2019/1770 and the Information Society Statistics 2025 Model Questionnaire (PDF 957KB) provided by Eurostat.
The 2025 headline indicator questions on household internet connectivity and frequency of internet usage were asked in the LFS (Labour Force Survey) in Quarters 1 and 2. These headline indicator questions are available here, LFS 2025 ICT Questionnaire (PDF 150KB) .
Questions on individual internet usage were asked using a new data collection model, used for the first time for the 2024 data collection, the details of which are available under Survey Design below. This survey questionnaire is available here ICT Household Survey 2025 (PDF 197KB)
In 2025, the headline indicator questions of the ICT Household Survey on household internet connectivity and frequency of individual usage of the internet, were asked of respondents of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), using both Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) and Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). For the purposes of achieving sufficient sample size and Eurostat reporting requirements, the ICT Household Survey headline indicator questions were included in the LFS survey for Quarters 1 and 2 in 2025, as in 2024. Respondents who had answered these questions on household internet connectivity and frequency of individual usage in Quarter 1, were not asked same questions in Quarter 2.
A separate new data collection was used in 2025 to collect information on detailed internet usage of individuals. This new data collection model was mainly by online questionnaire (CAWI data collection mode), but respondents could choose to complete via telephone interview if they wished (CATI data collection mode). This new data collection model was introduced for the 2024 survey and is outlined in more detail under the heading Data Collection below.
A new data collection model for collecting information on individual internet usage introduced in 2024, was continued for the 2025 survey data collection. The data collection model was carried out in two phases. The first phase involved the issuing of letters of invitation to a representative sample of approximately 112,900 people aged 16 years or over, asking if they would be willing to participate in CSO surveys. Of this representative sample, 10,675 people were issued with a link to the online questionnaire. The respondents could complete via this web-based questionnaire (CAWI data collection mode). Respondents could opt for a telephone interview (CATI data collection mode) instead.
The achieved sample size for the questions on detailed ICT usage at an individual level, was 4,034 respondents.
As detailed under Survey Design above, the headline indicator questions on household internet connectivity and frequency of individual usage of the internet, were included in the LFS survey instrument in Quarters 1 and 2. The achieved sample size for the headline indicator questions in 2025 was 14,635 (8,414 in Quarter 1 and 6,221 in Quarter 2).
In 2025, the ICT Household Survey was carried out in Quarters 1 and 2.
The questionnaire asked questions about ICT activities for the reference period of three months prior to the interview taking place. In relation to questions on the respondent's use of e-Government, the reference period is 12 months.
The sample for the ICT Household Survey on individual usage of the internet was a Simple Random Sample (SRS), stratified by age group, sex, and NUTS3 regions. The sampling frame was the 2022 Census. With an SRS approach, every individual within the target population, who were aged between 16 years and over, at the time of sampling, had an equal chance of selection.
A letter was sent to approximately 112,900 individuals in the sample asking them to would be willing to participate in follow-on CSO surveys. Of this representative sample, 10,675 people who had indicated that they would be willing to participate in the survey were issued with a link to the online questionnaire. Where an individual was unable to complete the survey online or would prefer a telephone interview, a telephone-based interview took place. Data collection occurred in Quarters 1 and 2. There were 4,034 completed responses to the survey.
The weighting procedure for the ICT Household Survey on individual usage of the internet had two steps: non-response adjustment and calibration.
Design weights were calculated for all people in the initial sample. The design weights are computed as the inverse of the selection probability of the unit and were the same for all sampled due to the simple random sampling approach. The purpose of design weights is to eliminate the bias induced by unequal selection probabilities.
The non-response adjustment used a propensity score adjustments method to assess non-response. Propensity score adjustment uses a logistic regression approach, utilising variables from the Census 2022 frame to estimate the probability of non-response for cohorts with specific characteristics related to non-response and the variables of relevance to the survey. Several iterations of the propensity score adjustment took place, optimising the model and including the following Census 2022 variables in the non-response calculation: deprivation index grouping, principle economic status, citizenship, sex, age, marital status, employment status, ethnicity, and level of education. Each group is then given a weight based on the estimated probability of responding. This eliminated the bias introduced by discrepancies caused by non-response, particularly critical when the non-responding people are different from the responding ones in respect to some census variables, as this may create substantial bias in the estimates.
Calibration of the non-response adjusted design weights then took place, calibrating to the Quarter 2 2025 population estimates at the level of sex, five-year age group, and NUTS3 region using the CALMAR2-macro, developed by INSEE, for this purpose. To provide national population results, the survey results were weighted to represent the entire population.
The ICT Household Survey data is collected directly from private households. Institutional households, (e.g. nursing homes, barracks, boarding schools, hotels etc.) are not covered by the survey. A household is defined as a single person or group of people who usually reside together in the same accommodation and who share the same catering arrangements. The household members are not necessarily related by blood or marriage.
A person is defined as a "Usual Resident" of a private household if he or she:
The sum of row or column percentages in the tables in this report may not add to 100% due to rounding. There may also be minor differences in totals as a result of rounding.
Percentage breakdowns exclude cases where the interviewee did not respond.
Where there are less than 50 people in a cell, estimates are too small to be considered reliable. These estimates are presented with (..) in the relevant tables.
The European Digital Identity (EUDI) Regulation Regulation establishes a framework for a European Digital Identity by enabling the creation of a universal, trustworthy, and secure European digital identity wallet. The new regulation 2024/1183 builds on the 910/2014 regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market.
Under the previous eIDAS regulation, EU Member States could, on a voluntary basis, notify national electronic identification schemes, which other Member States where then obliged to recognise - recognition of notified electronic identification became mandatory in 2018. However, there was no requirement for Member States to develop a national electronic identification. Interoperability between the various identity systems across member states also encountered technical problems and prevented the extension to private digital services.
The new regulation (EUDI) addresses the issues identified by eIDAS by improving the effectiveness of the current framework for digital Identity and extending its benefits to the private sector. Member States will be mandated to offer citizens and businesses digital wallets, which can link their national digital identities with proof of other personal attributes like driving licenses, passport, etc.
Where the eIDAS Regulation focussed on voluntary notification of eIDs and the use of Trust Services throughout the EU, the EU Digital Identity Framework Legislation’s central goal is the release of EU Digital wallets by member states (under an eID scheme). So, in Ireland, we are implementing a national wallet, which will align with the EU Digital Identity Wallet. The European Digital Identity Wallet builds on this basis, expanding the functionalities and usability of national eIDs and ensuring mutual recognition of national wallets by the other member states.
The Principal Economic Status (PES) classification is based on a single question in which respondents are asked ‘what is their usual situation regarding employment’ and given the following response categories:
The Deprivation Index - Pobal Haase-Pratschke Deprivation Index is used to create the underlying sample and is used to analyse the data. The Index uses Census data to measure levels of disadvantage or affluence in a geographical area.
The results are presented by quintiles, five equal-sized groups of households, with the first quintile representing the most disadvantaged areas and the fifth quintile representing the least deprived/most affluent area. More detailed information on the Index can be found on the Pobal website.
The five quintiles are described below:
For the purposes of deriving household composition, a child was defined as any member of the household aged 17 or under. Households were analysed as a whole, regardless of the number of family units within the household.
The Central Statistics Office wishes to thank the participating households for their co-operation in agreeing to take part in the survey and for facilitating the collection of the relevant data.
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