Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

In 1999 the Government published its action plan for the implementation of the information society in Ireland. In 2002, a further plan, New Connections, was published. Both plans were aimed at stimulating greater participation in the information society through the creation of infrastructures, raising awareness and promoting engagement by business, the public service, the public and organisations that could benefit from exploiting the Internet and its related technologies. Our strategy in this context has also reflected trends and policies articulated at European level in e-Europe 2002 and e-Europe 2005.

The Central Statistics Office published its second set of statistics on the information society in December 2004. It contains statistics on how information and communication technologies are being used in Ireland today. The main highlights included an estimated 1,489,200 people aged between 16 and 74 years have used a computer at some time, while 1,198,800 have used the Internet; 649,400 homes have a computer, an increase of 420,100 on the 1998 figure; the number of homes with Internet connections grew from 61,200 in 1998 to 537,000 in 2004; and broadband customers have now risen to 120,000 compared with just 1,000 in May 2003.

The CSO report is particularly encouraging as it shows continued growth in engagement with the information society as reflected in the figures for computer ownership and broadband access. The figures bear testimony to the success of the Government's strategy. However, a significant aspect of the statistics is in regard to the use of the Internet. The most popular use of the Internet is e-mail, which is followed by information searching and on-line services, of which travel and accommodation is a significant element; buying and selling and e-government. With respect to the latter, we are continuing to put services on-line and to make it easier for people to access services and related information using the Internet.

The situation has matured over the lifetime of the two action plans and we have continued to make progress. However, it is not enough to see the situation purely from a technical perspective and in terms of PCs in homes. The uses to which people can put technology are perhaps more significant factors in promoting greater engagement. Meaningful and useful content provides the genesis of demand, which is what ultimately attracts people.

While the aspiration that every home should have a PC and be on-line is very laudable, the real issue concerns the purposes for which it may be used — the value to people in making the investment and engaging in the information society. Government policy is about ensuring that everyone has the opportunity and reason to access the technologies so they can participate in the emerging knowledge economy and society. The statistics reveal that quite a number of people do not have an interest in using technology or accessing the Internet. Of the 848,000 households that do not have access to the Internet, more than 120,000 have access elsewhere and 326,000 do not want access to the Internet. Cost of equipment and access was an issue for around 190,000 households, while the lack of skills was an issue for almost 162,000 people.

While the cost of PCs was cited as an issue, the reason to use PCs is a bigger issue. This is what we need to address, because the issue of affordability has to be seen in the context of usefulness as reflected in the demand. Indeed, the cost of technology continues to drop, especially in comparison to such things as televisions and entertainment centres. Simply focusing on PCs as an access tool is narrow. There are other devices such as mobile phones, which have almost 80% penetration, and which will continue to grow in sophistication with the potential to play an ever-increasing role in people's lives.

In my role as Minister of State with responsibility for the information society, I want to concentrate on the vulnerable sectors of society, including the elderly, the disabled and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. I propose to ensure that these people get greater access to relevant technology and meaningful and useful content, so they can realise their potential as full members of society. To that end, I have created an e-inclusion fund of €1.025 million which I will be distributing this year to assist the categories outlined above. My Department is currently working on the criteria and mechanisms to ensure that we get maximum impact from the fund.

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