The latest digital scoreboard from the European Commission has been released, and in it we can see how Ireland's internet consumption compares to the rest of the European Union.
The full Irish comparative scoreboard can be found here, but the highlights include:
- Prices for fixed broadband in Ireland are almost double the EU average, when measured as a proportion of income, and remain unchanged since last year.
- At 78%, Ireland exhibits a rate of internet use amongst its population that is somewhat above the EU average. The digital skills of the population exhibit significant gaps, with only 44% of the population having sufficient digital skills to operate effectively online, placing it 22nd out of 28 countries for this indicator. The EU average is 55%.
- The most popular online activities are VoD (Video on Demand) being used by 68% of Irish internet users, Social Networking at 66%, online shopping at 63% and online Banking at 64%. The use of these services by internet users continues to increase. However, the use of other online services, such as news, is also on the rise.
