Results for the first six months of 2025 show that more than nine in ten (95%) internet users in Ireland went online daily and of these, more than four in ten (42%) used it all the time or nearly all the time.
Internet usage increased for older people with more than six in ten (63%) people aged 75 years and over accessing the internet within the three months prior to survey, compared with 54% in 2024. Of these, more than three-quarters (77%) used the internet daily.
Almost all (98%) internet users surveyed who were living in households with children used the internet every day or almost every day.
Students aged 16 or over were the most frequent users of the internet in 2025. All students surveyed had used the internet daily, of which almost all (97%) had gone online at least several times a day.
Almost all (99%) internet users aged 16 to 29 years went online daily, and of these, 96% used the internet at least several times a day.
In 2025, the majority of households have internet access (95%) in Ireland, mainly fixed broadband (87%).
Household internet connectivity was highest for the Dublin region (97%) in 2025, compared with the Border, Mid-West, and South-East regions (93%).
This release is the first in a series of four which will be published during November and December 2025, presenting the results of the annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey, which was carried out in the first two quarters of 2025.
The second release, Household Digital Consumer Behaviour 2025, will cover individuals’ use of e-commerce including internet activities, purchases of goods and services online, e-learning, and use of e-Government. The third release, Digital Interactions with Public Services 2025, will focus on individuals' contact online with public authorities and services. The final release in the series, Household Internet Security 2025, will provide results on internet security and the measures taken by individuals to safeguard their privacy and protect their personal data when using the internet.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (07 November 2025) published Internet Coverage and Usage in Ireland 2025. This is the first in a series of releases presenting the results of the annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey, which was carried out in the first half of 2025 (up to the end of June).
The data in this release 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: “As our everyday lives become more digital, we can see that for the first half of 2025 we were online more than ever, and were increasingly reliant on technology and digital services.
At an overall level, results for the first six months of 2025 show that 95% of people aged 16 years and over were recent users of the internet (had used it within the three months prior to survey), up two percentage points from 2024. Of these recent internet users, 95% went online every day or almost every day.
Just 5% of people aged 16 years and over had never used the internet, down one percentage point from 2024, although this predominantly related to older people where more than one-third (34%) of those aged 75 and over had never used the internet.
Frequency of Use
We are accessing the internet more frequently on a daily basis. Of daily internet users, more than four in ten (42%) used it all the time or nearly all the time. In 2025, almost six in ten (57%) of younger people aged 16 to 29 years used the internet almost constantly: 22% used it all the time, while a further 34% used it nearly all the time.
Students were the most frequent users of the internet in 2025. All students used the internet every day or almost every day. Of these daily internet users, almost all (97%) went online at least several times a day: 39% used the internet several times a day, a further 37% of students used the internet nearly all the time, and one-fifth (21%) used the internet all the time.
Older people used the internet the least in 2025, although their internet usage increased compared with the same period in 2024. More than six in ten (63%) people aged 75 years and over used the internet within the three months prior to survey, up from 54% in 2024. Of these, more than three-quarters (77%) used the internet daily (75% in 2024), with six in ten (61%) of these daily internet users going online at least several times a day.
Household Internet Connectivity
The vast majority (95%) of households in Ireland have internet connectivity. Looking at internet access on a regional basis, household internet connectivity was highest for the Dublin region (97% of households), compared with 93% of households in the Border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo), Mid-West (Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary), and South-East (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford) regions.
Household internet access was mainly via fixed broadband access (87%), up one percentage point from 2024. Fixed broadband connection was highest in the Dublin region at 91% of households, compared with the Border region (80%).
Non-Internet Households
Of the 5% of households with no internet access, the most common reason given was that they did not need the internet (59%), followed by lack of skills (17%). A small number of these households with no internet access stated that broadband internet was not available in their area (4%).”