The Internet Coverage and Usage in Ireland 2022 was published on 21 December 2021.
Please note that the fourth bullet point relating to students was revised on 08 November 2023 as there were errors in original data in table 2.2. The publication text and PxStat tables now reflect the revised data.
Of internet users:
More than nine in ten (94%) go online daily, and of these, 43% use it all the time or nearly all the time, up eight percentage points from 2021.
Almost all internet users surveyed, living in households with children, used the internet every day or almost every day.
Of younger internet users aged 16 to 29 years, almost all had gone online daily, and of these, the vast majority had used the internet at least several times a day.
Students were the most frequent users of the internet in 2022 with 97% going online at least several times a day.
The majority of households have internet access (94%), mainly fixed broadband (85%).
Household internet connectivity was highest for the Dublin region (97%), compared with the Border region (90%). Of households in Dublin with internet access, more than nine in ten were via fixed broadband (92%), compared with 77% in the Border region.
Of the 6% of households with no internet access, the most common reason cited by 56% of those households was that they do not need the internet, while 7% stated that broadband internet was not available in their area.
This publication, Internet Coverage and Usage in Ireland 2022, is the fourth of a series of publications presenting the results of the annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey. The first publication, Digital Consumer Behaviour 2022, was published on 12 December 2022 and covered individuals’ use of e-commerce including sharing economy, internet activities, online learning, and their use of e-Government. The second publication, Smart Technology 2022, was published on 16 December 2022 and focussed on our use of internet-connected devices and systems, both inside and outside the home. The third publication, Sustainability of Personal ICT Devices 2022, was published on 19 December 2022 and covered how we dispose of our ICT devices such as smartphones or laptops, and what factors influence our decisions when buying new devices, including environmental considerations.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (21 December 2022) released Internet Coverage and Usage in Ireland 2022, which is the fourth and final publication of a series of publications presenting the results of the annual Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey. (See Editor’s Note below for more details.)
The 2022 ICT Household Survey was carried out in the first half of 2022. The data in this publication is a subset of the broader data collected in the survey and covers household internet access and individuals’ frequency of internet usage.
Commenting on the results, Maureen Delamere, Statistician in the Social Analysis Division, said: “Our everyday lives are becoming far more digital, and in 2022, we were online more than ever and relying on technology and digital services.
At an overall level, more than nine in ten (92%) persons aged 16 years and older were recent users of the internet (used within the three months prior to survey), an increase of two percentage points from 2021. Daily internet usage similarly increased. Of recent internet users, 94% went online every day or almost every day, up five percentage points on 2021. Just 7% of people aged 16 years and older had never used the internet, although this was predominantly among older people where 45% of persons aged 75 and over had never used the internet.
Frequency of Use
As our lives have become more digital, we are accessing the internet more frequently on a daily basis. Of daily internet users, more than four in ten (43%) use it all the time or nearly all the time, up eight percentage points on 2021. In 2022, nearly six in ten (57%) younger persons aged 16 to 29 years used the internet almost constantly – 24% used it all the time, while a further one-third (33%) used it nearly all the time. Students were the most frequent users of the internet in 2022. All students used the internet every day or almost every day. Of these daily internet users, the vast majority (97%) went online at least several times a day: 33% used the internet several times a day, a further 38% of students used the internet nearly all the time, and more than one-quarter (26%) used the internet all the time.
Household Internet Connectivity
The vast majority (94%) of households have internet connectivity. Looking at internet access on a regional basis, household internet connectivity was highest for the Dublin region (97%), compared with the Border region (90% of households). Household internet access was mainly via fixed broadband access (85%). Fixed broadband connection was highest in the Dublin region at 92% of households, compared with Border region (77%).
Non-Internet Households
Of households with no internet access, the most common reason (56%) was that they did not need the internet, followed by lack of skills or knowledge (32%). One in fourteen (7%) of these households with no internet access stated that broadband internet was not available in their area.”