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For more information on this release:

E-mail: Socialmodules@cso.ie Maureen Delamere (+353) 21 453 5081 Paul Michael Crowley (+353) 21 453 5090

For general information on CSO statistics:

information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5791

CSO statistical release, 13 July 2017, 11am

Information Society Statistics - Households

2017

Households with access to the internet
% of households
2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
72	78	81	82	82	85	87	89

89% of households have access to the internet at home

Figure 1 Percentage of households with internet access

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Summary of main findings:

It is estimated that, in 2017, 89% of households have access to the internet at home, an increase of two percentage points on 2016. See table 1a and figure 1.
The main reasons stated for not having a household internet connection were Do not need internet (45%) and Lack of skills (43%). See table 1c.
In 2017, 81% of internet users used the internet in the three months prior to interview. See table 2a.
Finding information on goods and services (86%) was the most common activity carried out on the internet by individuals. The next most common activities selected were E-mail (85%), followed by Social networking (72%) and Internet banking (71%). See table 3a.
The most common types of goods or services purchased by internet users were Clothes or sports goods (44%). The next most common types of internet purchases were Holiday accommodation and Tickets for events, both at 37%, followed by Other travel arrangements at 36%. See table 4a.
52% of internet users stated that they used storage space on the internet to store files electronically, an increase of seven percentage points on 2016 (45%). See table 5.

Households: Type of internet access used

In 2017, 89% of households have an internet connection, an increase of two percentage points on 2016 and 17 percentage points since 2010. Data for 2017 indicates that fixed broadband is the most common type of internet access in the household (84% compared with 49% using mobile broadband). Internet access via narrow broadband connection was just 1%. Note that more than one type of internet connection may be used in households. See tables 1a and 1b and figure 1.

Fixed broadband connection is highest in the Dublin region at 93%, compared with the Border and Midlands regions, both at 72%. Densely populated areas have fixed broadband penetration of 88%. See table 1b and figure 2.

In 2017, of the 11% of households with no internet access, 43% reported that this was due to a Lack of skills. Further barriers reported included Equipment costs too high (13%) and Access costs too high (10%), while 45% of households without internet access reported that this was because they Do not need internet. In the Midlands region, 17% of households with no internet access reported that internet access was Not available in the area, compared with 0% in the Dublin region. See table 1c.

Show Table 1(a) Households with internet access, 2010 to 2017

Table 1(a) Households with internet access, 2010 to 2017
															% of households

		2010		2011		2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
Desktop/portable computer permanently in the home		%	Unweighted sample	%	Unweighted sample	%	Unweighted sample	%	Unweighted sample	%	Unweighted sample	%	Unweighted sample	%	Unweighted sample	%	Unweighted sample

State		72	7,826	78	6,365	81	10,018	82	10,283	82	9,629	85	9,150	87	8,261	89	7,885
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	42	1,478	51	1,169	55	1,714	55	1,810	56	1,731	60	1,702	66	1,631	66	1,424
	2 adults no dependent children	66	2,139	72	1,727	74	2,771	78	2,686	76	2,879	81	2,475	85	1,714	86	1,609
	3 or more adults no dependent children	85	1,214	88	1,033	90	1,576	92	1,534	94	1,624	95	1,463	87	1,295	90	1,301
	1 adult with dependent children	61	404	76	336	78	500	82	532	86	404	88	361	93	530	95	494
	2 adults with dependent children	87	1,945	93	1,592	95	2,551	95	2,775	96	2,205	97	2,314	98	2,487	99	2,429
	3 or more adults with dependent children	90	646	95	508	96	906	95	946	95	786	96	835	97	604	98	628
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	44	2,211	56	1,906	58	2,960	61	3,036	61	2,823	63	2,419	68	2,184	68	1,954
	1	75	2,705	82	2,220	85	3,506	87	3,484	85	3,230	87	3,055	89	2,742	91	2,635
	2	89	2,427	93	1,871	96	2,984	95	3,158	96	2,984	97	3,058	97	2,782	98	548
	3+	93	483	97	368	98	568	98	605	98	592	97	618	98	553	99	2,748
Internet type
	Broadband	100	4,757	100	4,116	100	6,686	100	7,072	100	4,735	100	7,543	100	7,067	100	6,888
	Narrowband	100	658	100	715	100	1,137	100	1,163	100	2,913	100	125	100	82	*	28
	No internet	0	2,256	0	1,421	0	1,967	0	1,840	0	1,727	0	1,378	0	1,093	0	953
	Unknown internet	100	155	100	113	100	228	100	208	100	121	100	104	*	19	*	16
Population
	Densely populated	77	2,352	83	2,174	85	3,056	86	3,301	87	3,417	89	3,267	90	2,896	92	2,895
	Intermediate populated	73	1,836	79	1,534	81	2,596	83	2,444	83	2,009	86	1,997	89	1,893	90	1,660
	Thinly populated	67	3,638	74	2,657	78	4,366	80	4,538	78	4,203	81	3,886	83	3,472	85	3,330
Region
	Border	60	874	66	602	75	1,205	75	1,154	75	1,090	83	910	82	988	83	875
	Midlands	66	448	79	321	74	593	82	626	80	622	84	568	85	494	86	398
	West	70	890	79	670	82	896	81	970	78	877	79	731	84	662	84	755
	Dublin	78	1,642	84	1,486	86	2,132	87	2,390	88	2,642	90	2,617	91	2,383	94	2,304
	Mid-East	81	843	87	545	87	776	86	1,062	86	1,008	87	1,039	89	575	92	846
	Mid-West	73	874	77	759	79	1,085	80	1,025	80	762	86	797	87	789	86	682
	South-East	65	1,087	71	902	79	1,424	81	1,301	79	1,069	80	968	85	848	87	937
	South-West	70	1,168	76	1,080	78	1,907	81	1,755	80	1,559	82	1,520	86	1,522	88	1,088
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Households represent all private households with at least one occupant aged 16-74.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.

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Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics Household 2017 Table 1(a) (XLS 16KB)

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Type of internet access	Mobile broadband	Fixed broadband	Narrowband connection
Border	52.7	71.6	0.7
Midlands	44.7	72	0.3
West	26.9	84.1	0.7
Dublin	55.2	93.1	0.2
Mid-East	60.5	82.7	0.5
Mid-West	44.7	82	0.1
South-East	54.6	80.4	0.7
South-West	35.9	83.3	0.7

Show Table 1(b) Households with internet access classified by type of internet access and characteristics of the household, 2017

Table 1(b) Households with internet access classified by type of internet access and characteristics of the household, 2017
					% of households
		Fixed broadband¹	Mobile broadband²	Narrowband connection (either mobile or fixed)³	Type of connection unknown	Unweighted sample

State		84	49	1	0	6,932
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	69	52	1	0	916
	2 adults no dependent children	85	43	1	0	1,373
	3 or more adults no dependent children	84	49	0	1	1,168
	1 adult with dependent children	76	57	1	0	467
	2 adults with dependent children	90	49	0	0	2,396
	3 or more adults with dependent children	88	51	0	0	612
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	75	46	1	0	1,313
	1	81	49	0	0	2,397
	2	89	50	0	0	2,682
	3+	91	52	0	0	540
Population
	Densely populated	88	50	1	0	2,600
	Intermediate populated	80	48	1	0	1,683
	Thinly populated	70	48	3	0	2,885
Region
	Border	72	53	1	0	718
	Midlands	72	45	0	0	341
	West	84	27	1	0	630
	Dublin	93	55	0	0	2,139
	Mid-East	83	61	1	0	769
	Mid-West	82	45	0	0	581
	South-East	80	55	1	0	809
	South-West	83	36	1	1	945
¹Examples include e.g. DSL, ADSL, VDSL, cable, optical fibre, satellite, public Wi-Fi connections.
²Connection via mobile phone network with minimum 3G. e.g. UMTS, using (SIM) or USB key, mobile phone or smartphone as modem.
³Less than 3G, GPRS, dial-up access over older type telephone.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Households represent all private households with at least one occupant aged 16-74.
Note 3: More than one type of internet access may be given by households.

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Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics Household 2017 Table 1(b) (XLS 13KB)

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Show Table 1(c) Households without internet access classified by reasons for not having household internet access, 2017

Table 1(c) Households without internet access classified by reasons for not having household internet access, 2017
							% of households without internet access
		Do not need internet	Lack of skills	Equipment costs too high	Access costs too high	Access elsewhere	Not available in the area	Privacy security concerns	Other	Unweighted sample

State		45	43	13	10	9	7	5	9	953
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	49	45	11	11	9	5	4	7	508
	2 adults no dependent children	51	47	10	8	7	7	7	10	236
	3 or more adults no dependent children	42	44	10	6	10	5	4	12	133
	1 adult with dependent children	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	27
	2 adults with dependent children	[13]	[19]	[22]	[15]	[14]	[31]	[7]	[26]	33
	3 or more adults with dependent children	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	16
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	47	48	13	10	5	4	6	8	641
	1	43	35	12	12	15	11	4	10	238
	2	36	26	14	8	22	17	2	11	66
	3+	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	8
Population
	Densely populated	38	43	11	14	8	0	5	9	238
	Intermediate populated	41	42	18	11	13	0	5	15	179
	Thinly populated	50	43	12	8	9	12	5	7	536
Region
	Border	49	39	16	10	10	6	3	13	157
	Midlands	62	50	28	22	8	17	12	2	57
	West	60	45	2	3	5	9	2	5	125
	Dublin	32	43	13	13	9	0	4	10	165
	Mid-East	43	42	22	11	14	10	7	12	77
	Mid-West	52	34	10	6	6	7	4	6	101
	South-East	40	40	6	6	15	4	4	10	128
	South-West	35	49	12	13	9	8	6	9	143

Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Households represent all private households with at least one occupant aged 16-74.
Note 3: More than one reason may have been given by respondents.
Note 4: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.
Note 5: Figures in parentheses [ ] indicate percentages based on small numbers (sample size 30 to 49), and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

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Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics Household 2017 Table 1(c) (XLS 18KB)

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Individuals: Frequency of use of the internet

In 2017, an estimated 81% of individuals used the internet in the 3 months prior to the interview. 95% of individuals in the 16-29 years age group used the internet within the last 3 months, compared with 48% of individuals in the 60-74 years age category. 96% of Students used the internet within the previous 3 months, while 91% of households with two or more persons at work in the household used the internet within the last 3 months. 46% of individuals in the 60-74 years age group have never used the internet. More female than males used the internet with the previous 3 months - 83% compared with 79% of males. This follows the same trend as in previous years. See table 2a and figure 3.

A greater percentage of households with dependent children used the internet within the previous 3 months when compared with households with no dependent children - close to nine and over of every ten households with dependent children used the internet within the last 3 months. See table 2a.

Seven out of every ten internet users used the internet every day while nearly one tenth (9%) used the internet at least once a week but not every day. Daily usage of the internet has increased nine percentage points since 2013. In 2017, 94% of Students accessed the internet on a daily basis, compared with 32% of internet users who are Retired. See table 2b.

Of the 16-29 years age category, 92% accessed the internet every day, compared with 31% of the 60-74 years age group. Over half (52%) of internet users in the latter age category did not use the internet within the 3 months prior to interview. By comparison, 84% of individuals in the 30-44 years age group accessed the internet every day, as in 2016 also, but an increase of five percentage points when compared with the same age cohort in 2015. See table 2b.

In the Dublin region, 79% of individuals accessed the internet every day, an increase of two percentage points on 2016. These figures compare with 57% of individuals in the Border region accessing the internet on a daily basis in 2017. See table 2b.

Frequency of use	Used within last 3 months	Used but not in the last 3 months	Never used the internet
2017	81.2	2.8	15.9
2016	82.2	3.4	14.9
2015	80.1	3.4	16.5

Show Table 2(a) Individuals' use of the internet classified by broad frequency of use, 2011 to 2017

Table 2(a) Individuals' use of the internet classified by broad frequency of use, 2011 to 2017
																				% of individuals
		Used within last 3 months							Used but not in the last 3 months							Never used the internet
		2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017

State		75	77	78	80	80	82	81	4	5	4	4	3	3	3	21	18	18	16	17	15	16
Sex
	Male	73	77	78	78	79	81	79	3	5	4	4	3	3	3	23	18	18	18	18	16	17
	Female	76	77	79	81	81	83	83	4	5	4	4	4	3	3	19	18	17	15	15	14	14
Age group
	16-29	93	92	93	96	95	96	95	4	4	3	2	2	1	1	3	3	5	2	3	2	4
	30-44	87	89	90	92	92	94	93	3	4	4	3	3	1	2	10	7	6	5	5	4	5
	45-59	65	70	76	74	75	76	79	4	6	5	6	4	4	4	31	24	19	20	21	20	17
	60-74	38	40	46	43	45	52	48	5	7	5	6	6	7	6	58	53	49	51	49	41	46
Principal economic status
	At work	84	88	88	88	89	89	89	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	14	9	9	10	9	9	9
	Unemployed	74	73	76	76	76	76	79	5	8	6	8	4	6	3	21	19	18	16	19	19	18
	Student	97	94	98	99	99	99	96	1	3	1	1	0	0	1	1	4	2	0	1	1	3
	Home duties	57	63	66	64	64	70	69	6	8	5	7	6	5	4	37	30	29	29	30	25	27
	Retired	43	50	49	52	51	60	49	6	7	7	6	7	7	7	51	43	44	42	42	33	44
	Other	51	50	51	50	53	57	60	7	8	8	9	6	6	7	43	42	41	41	41	37	33
Region
	Border	64	72	70	73	77	75	75	7	6	6	5	4	5	4	28	22	24	22	19	21	21
	Midland	74	69	76	77	78	80	81	2	5	5	3	3	2	3	25	27	19	19	19	18	17
	West	74	75	75	75	75	76	76	3	5	4	5	3	5	3	23	20	21	20	22	20	21
	Dublin	81	82	85	87	86	87	87	4	6	4	3	3	2	3	15	13	11	10	11	10	10
	Mid-East	81	84	80	83	82	84	78	2	3	3	2	2	2	3	17	13	17	15	17	14	20
	Mid-West	72	74	76	79	80	83	82	3	6	4	5	4	3	3	25	20	21	16	16	14	15
	South-East	69	73	75	75	76	82	82	4	5	4	6	4	3	3	28	22	22	20	19	15	15
	South-West	73	75	78	76	77	80	80	4	6	4	5	4	3	2	23	20	19	20	20	17	17
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	89	90	91	91	91	91	91	2	3	2	3	2	2	2	9	8	7	7	7	7	7
	Narrowband	85	85	86	85	90	84	92	4	5	4	6	2	3	3	12	11	10	10	8	13	6
	No internet	20	18	19	19	13	14	14	11	16	13	11	10	10	10	69	67	69	70	77	77	76
	Unknown internet	39	51	40	45	33	31	24	2	6	7	7	5	2	0	58	44	53	49	63	69	76
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	59	62	60	65	63	68	64	5	6	7	6	5	5	4	36	32	34	29	32	27	32
	2 adults no dependent children	68	70	74	74	73	75	75	4	5	3	4	4	4	4	28	25	24	22	23	20	20
	3 or more adults no dependent children	77	78	79	80	82	79	80	2	4	4	4	3	3	3	21	18	17	16	15	18	18
	1 adult with dependent children	81	81	84	89	87	91	90	11	12	8	5	5	3	4	8	7	8	6	9	6	6
	2 adults with dependent children	87	89	90	92	93	93	91	3	4	4	3	3	2	1	10	7	6	5	4	6	8
	3 or more adults with dependent children	80	83	82	85	87	86	86	3	5	5	3	3	2	2	17	13	13	12	11	12	12
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	57	56	58	62	59	65	59	6	8	7	6	7	7	6	36	36	35	32	35	28	36
	1	75	79	81	81	82	83	83	4	5	4	4	3	3	3	21	16	15	15	15	14	14
	2	87	89	90	91	92	91	91	2	3	3	2	2	1	2	10	8	8	7	6	8	8
	3+	87	88	88	87	90	91	91	2	3	2	3	1	1	1	11	9	10	11	9	8	7

Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who use the internet.

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Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics Household 2017 Table 2(a) (XLS 19KB)

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Show Table 2(b) Individuals use of the internet classified by detailed frequency of use, 2013 to 2017

Table 2(b) Individuals' use of the internet classified by detailed frequency of use, 2013 to 2017
																	% of individuals
		Every day					At least once a week (but not every day)					At least once a month (but not every week)					Didn't use in last 3 months
		Every day					At least once a week (but not every day)					At least once a month (but not every week)					Didn't use in last 3 months
		2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017

State		61	65	67	70	70	14	12	11	10	9	3	3	3	3	2	22	21	20	18	19
Sex
	Male	61	64	66	69	69	13	12	11	9	8	4	3	3	3	2	22	21	21	19	21
	Female	62	66	68	70	71	14	12	11	10	9	3	4	2	3	3	21	19	19	17	17
Age group
	16-29	79	86	90	92	92	12	7	4	4	3	2	2	1	1	1	8	4	5	4	5
	30-44	74	77	79	84	84	14	12	11	9	7	3	3	2	1	2	10	8	8	6	7
	45-59	57	54	56	59	63	14	15	15	13	13	5	5	4	4	4	24	26	25	24	21
	60-74	28	26	29	32	31	14	12	12	13	12	4	4	4	7	5	54	57	55	48	52
Principal economic status
	At work	72	74	76	79	80	13	11	11	9	8	3	3	2	2	2	12	12	11	11	11
	Unemployed	56	56	61	61	65	16	16	13	11	9	4	5	3	4	4	24	24	24	24	21
	Student	91	94	98	96	94	6	4	1	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	1	1	4
	Home duties	46	45	47	52	51	17	15	14	13	14	3	5	3	5	4	34	36	36	30	31
	Retired	29	34	34	37	32	16	15	13	15	12	4	4	5	7	5	51	48	49	41	51
	Other	33	31	40	40	47	13	13	9	12	9	5	7	3	5	5	49	50	47	43	40
Region
	Border	51	55	60	57	57	15	13	14	13	12	5	6	4	5	6	30	27	23	25	25
	Midland	60	64	66	67	66	13	10	7	10	13	3	4	5	3	2	24	23	23	20	19
	West	57	60	59	61	65	14	13	13	13	10	4	2	3	2	2	25	25	25	24	24
	Dublin	71	74	76	77	79	12	10	8	7	6	2	3	2	3	2	15	13	14	13	13
	Mid-East	63	65	68	72	65	14	14	12	9	10	3	4	2	3	3	20	17	19	16	22
	Mid-West	58	61	64	69	68	13	13	13	11	11	4	5	3	3	4	24	21	20	17	18
	South-East	54	61	62	70	73	16	11	12	9	7	5	3	2	3	2	26	25	24	18	18
	South-West	61	62	65	68	72	14	11	10	10	7	3	3	2	2	2	22	24	24	20	20
Type of internet connection
	Broadband	73	75	77	77	77	15	13	12	11	11	3	3	3	3	3	9	9	9	9	10
	Narrowband	63	67	70	69	71	18	16	15	14	17	6	2	5	4	4	14	15	10	15	8
	No internet	10	9	7	8	8	6	6	4	4	3	3	5	2	2	3	81	81	87	86	86
	Unknown internet	22	26	20	*	*	14	14	12	*	*	4	5	1	*	*	60	55	67	*	*
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	44	50	51	53	52	12	11	10	11	9	4	4	2	4	3	40	35	37	32	36
	2 adults no dependent children	58	59	60	60	60	12	12	10	11	11	4	3	3	4	4	26	26	27	25	25
	3 or more adults no dependent children	64	69	72	69	71	12	8	9	8	6	4	3	2	3	2	21	20	18	21	20
	1 adult with dependent children	62	74	74	80	79	18	13	12	10	9	4	5	1	2	3	16	11	13	9	10
	2 adults with dependent children	72	74	79	81	81	16	14	12	9	9	3	3	3	2	2	10	8	7	7	9
	3 or more adults with dependent children	64	70	71	74	77	15	12	12	9	8	4	4	3	3	2	18	15	13	14	14
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	39	44	45	49	43	15	13	11	12	10	4	5	3	5	5	42	38	42	35	42
	1	63	65	67	70	71	15	13	12	11	10	3	3	3	3	2	19	19	18	17	17
	2	75	79	80	81	82	11	10	10	8	7	3	2	2	2	1	10	9	8	9	10
	3+	73	75	80	83	83	12	9	7	6	7	3	3	2	1	1	12	13	10	9	9
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who use the internet.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.

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Individuals: Internet access away from home or work by type of device used

Mobile phones or smartphones were used to access the internet away from home or work by 87% of individuals in 2017, either via the mobile phone network and/or via the wireless network. The most common form of accessing the internet by mobile phone or smartphone when away from home or work was via the mobile phone network (74%), access via the wireless network (such as Wi-Fi) was 66%. On the other hand, when using a portable computer (such as laptop, tablet, etc.) to access the internet away from home or work, access via the wireless network was most common - 45% compared with just 12% via the mobile phone network. Note that more than one option may have been selected by respondents. See table 2c.

Just 8% of internet users did not access the internet via any mobile device when away from home or work. See table 2c.

Show Table 2(c) Individuals who recently used the internet away from home or work classified by type of device used, 2017

Table 2(c) Individuals who recently used the internet (in the last 3 months) away from home or work classified by type of device used, 2017
								% of individuals
	Mobile phone (or smartphone)	Mobile phone (or smartphone) via mobile phone network	Mobile phone (or smartphone) via wireless network	Portable computer¹	Portable computer via mobile phone network	Portable computer via wireless network	Other devices	Didn't access the internet via mobile device away from home or work	Unweighted sample


State	87	74	66	48	12	45	9	8	6,022
Sex
Male	88	75	67	50	13	47	12	8	2,347
Female	86	72	65	47	11	43	7	9	3,675
Age group
16-29	97	84	74	51	13	47	13	2	729
30-44	92	79	71	50	12	46	10	5	2,243
45-59	81	67	61	46	10	42	7	12	1,810
60-74	58	47	43	44	11	39	4	26	1,240
Principal economic status
At work	90	79	69	50	13	46	10	6	3,642
b Unemployed	86	63	64	44	15	37	8	9	339
Student	97	82	74	61	13	58	15	1	275
Home duties	78	62	57	37	8	34	4	14	821
Retired	56	44	43	43	9	39	5	28	708
Other	78	62	59	40	7	37	5	14	237
Region
Border	86	74	61	45	16	39	5	8	589
Midlands	86	68	46	33	15	24	4	12	352
West	82	68	67	55	17	50	4	8	531
Dublin	92	83	80	56	9	54	14	5	1,866
Mid-East	82	75	57	38	7	36	10	13	636
Mid-West	82	69	69	55	11	52	12	12	512
South-East	87	70	54	35	13	31	6	7	746
South-West	87	65	60	52	13	46	8	8	790
Household composition
1 Adult no dependent children	79	67	56	44	12	39	8	13	905
2 Adults no dependent children	78	68	60	51	13	46	9	13	1,212
3 or more adults no dependent children	88	78	71	51	11	48	10	8	972
1 Adult with dependent children	92	77	62	32	12	29	8	6	422
2 Adults with dependent children	90	75	69	52	12	48	10	6	2,044
3 or more adults with dependent children	92	77	69	45	12	41	8	6	467
Number of persons at work in the household
No persons at work in the household	76	60	56	40	11	35	6	16	1,237
One person at work in the household	85	70	63	46	12	42	8	9	2,023
Two persons at work in the household	91	80	71	53	13	49	12	5	2,293
Three or more persons at work in the household	92	84	74	53	11	50	10	6	469
¹Examples include laptop, tablet, etc.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who used the internet in the last 3 months.
Note 3: More than one type of device used may have been given by respondents.

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Individuals: Internet activities

Of the internet activities surveyed in 2017, the most popular activity was Finding information on goods and services (86%). The next most common internet activity was E-mail (85%), followed by Social networking at 72%. Internet banking was used by over seven out of every ten (71%) users of the internet in the previous 3 months. See table 3a.

Online activities analysed by age group shows that Finding information on goods and services and E-mail (sending/receiving e-mails) were the top two activities carried out by all age groups over 30 years of age. Those aged 30 to 44 reported the highest use of E-mail at 89%, while 75% of the 60-74 years age group used E-mail. Almost eight out of every ten (79%) internet users in the 60-74 years age group used the internet in the previous 3 months in Finding information on goods and services. See table 3a.

Individuals aged 16 to 29 years were more likely to engage in online leisure or recreation activities, such as Social networking (93%) and Uploading self-created content (70%), when compared to other age groups. See table 3a. .

Nearly half (47%) of internet users whose principal economic status is Unemployed used the internet in the previous 3 months in Looking for a job or sending a job application. Over one fifth of Students (22%) used the internet for the same purpose. Over one in five (22%) of internet users whose principal economic status was At work used the internet in Participating in professional networks (such as LinkedIn, etc.). See table 3a.

Show Table 3(a) Individuals who recently used the internet classified by types of internet activities, 2017

Table 3(a) Individuals who recently used the internet (in the last 3 months) classified by types of internet activities, 2017
									% of individuals
		Finding information on goods and services	E-mail¹	Social networking²	Internet banking	Reading or downloading online news	Services related to travel	Uploading self created content³	Internet telephoning/ video calls	Seeking health related information

State		86	85	72	71	65	52	49	48	46
Sex
	Male	86	84	69	71	68	52	47	49	39
	Female	85	85	76	71	62	52	50	48	53
Age group
	16-29	86	86	93	67	66	49	70	60	45
	30-44	88	89	79	80	69	59	52	54	50
	45-59	85	81	58	69	62	50	34	35	44
	60-74	79	75	36	55	57	42	21	33	40
Principal economic status
	At work	88	88	73	81	69	61	49	51	48
	Unemployed	80	77	72	47	55	26	43	38	37
	Student	87	88	93	58	67	43	71	61	43
	Home duties	82	74	71	56	55	42	44	41	49
	Retired	80	79	33	57	62	46	20	34	42
	Other	74	64	73	47	50	29	35	31	48
Region
	Border	84	76	68	68	45	37	34	38	32
	Midland	83	74	77	58	66	34	51	38	40
	West	87	90	71	71	74	59	45	50	49
	Dublin	88	89	77	78	75	60	51	60	49
	Mid-East	82	82	69	67	63	48	51	51	48
	Mid-West	91	85	69	70	64	51	58	45	54
	South-East	83	80	74	68	54	52	52	41	42
	South-West	86	88	69	70	62	54	45	39	47
Type of household Internet connection
	Broadband	86	85	73	72	66	53	49	49	47
	Narrowband	78	70	27	56	24	25	10	23	43
	No internet	75	64	51	35	38	23	20	15	22
	Unknown internet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	88	84	62	68	63	48	38	43	43
	2 adults no dependent children	86	85	63	72	69	58	41	47	47
	3 or more adults no dependent children	87	85	77	72	70	56	59	54	44
	1 adult with dependent children	83	77	83	57	54	40	55	42	46
	2 adults with dependent children	87	87	74	75	67	53	48	50	50
	3 or more adults with dependent children	78	81	81	66	53	44	53	46	39
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	79	72	63	49	56	33	36	41	41
	1	87	84	71	68	61	48	46	45	46
	2	87	90	75	81	71	61	51	52	49
	3+	87	86	82	78	69	62	65	58	43
¹Sending/receiving e-mails.
²Examples include creating user profiles, posting messages or other contributions to Facebook, Twitter, etc.
²Includes uploading text, photos, music, videos, software, etc. to any website to be shared.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who used the internet in the previous 3 months.

Table 3(a) contd. Individuals who recently used the internet (in the last 3 months) classified by types of internet activities, 2017
									% of individuals
		Selling of goods or services	Buying or renewing existing insurance policies	Participating in professional networks⁴	Looking for a job or sending a job application	Posting opinions on civic or political issues via websites	Making appointment with health practitioner	Taking part in online consultations or voting on civic or political issues	Buying or selling of investment services⁵	Arranging credit with financial institutions⁶

State		23	18	17	14	9	9	6	2	2
Sex
	Male	25	19	20	16	9	7	6	2	2
	Female	20	17	14	13	8	10	5	1	1
Age group
	16-29	26	13	19	26	12	8	7	1	2
	30-44	27	24	21	14	10	10	6	2	3
	45-59	19	18	13	8	7	7	5	2	1
	60-74	10	11	6	3	4	6	2	0	1
Principal economic status
	At work	26	24	22	12	9	9	6	2	2
	Unemployed	15	8	8	47	9	6	4	1	1
	Student	24	8	15	22	13	8	7	.	1
	Home duties	16	13	4	9	6	8	3	1	1
	Retired	10	12	4	2	4	6	3	1	0
	Other	19	6	6	4	8	6	5	1	1
Region
	Border	14	12	7	9	4	2	2	1	0
	Midland	17	21	7	13	7	5	3	1	3
	West	34	15	11	17	7	12	4	1	1
	Dublin	23	23	29	17	11	12	8	3	2
	Mid-East	26	14	12	12	7	5	5	0	0
	Mid-West	17	17	14	12	6	8	5	2	4
	South-East	29	22	11	14	13	8	6	1	5
	South-West	18	16	14	15	9	7	6	2	1
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	23	20	17	14	9	9	6	2	2
	Narrowband	1	14	5	2	4	4	0	0	0
	No internet	8	7	4	16	1	2	1	0	0
	Unknown internet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	20	16	19	14	7	7	5	2	2
	2 adults no dependent children	20	22	18	11	9	9	7	2	2
	3 or more adults no dependent children	22	16	20	20	10	8	5	1	1
	1 adult with dependent children	21	12	9	18	11	10	4	0	3
	2 adults with dependent children	26	22	17	12	9	9	6	2	2
	3 or more adults with dependent children	19	12	9	15	7	6	5	1	1
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	16	7	6	16	8	8	4	1	1
	1	21	18	15	15	8	8	5	1	2
	2	26	24	22	12	10	10	7	2	2
	3+	24	18	18	17	10	7	4	1	2
⁴Examples include creating user profiles, posting messages or other contributions to LinkedIn, etc.
⁵Includes buying or selling shares, bonds, funds or other investment services.
⁶Includes taking a loan or mortgage or arranging credit from banks or other financial providers.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who used the internet in the previous 3 months.

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Individuals: Use of e-Government

In 2017, over half of internet users (51%) Obtained information from websites or apps of public authorities or public services, while 45% Downloaded or printed official forms from their websites or apps. Submitting completed forms online was carried out by nearly two thirds (63%) of internet users, an increase of five percentage points on 2016, Nearly three quarters (73%) of internet users in the 30-44 years age group submitted completed forms online. This figure compares with 47% of internet users in the 16-29 years age category - 72% of internet users in this age group who did not submit any completed official forms online cited the reason Did not have to submit official forms at all. See tables 3b and 3c.

For 23% of internet users, another person such as a consultant, tax adviser, relative or family member filled it in on their behalf, while 7% said that they found the process too complicated and cited Lack of skills or knowledge. See table 3c.

Show Table 3(b) Individuals' contact over the internet with Public Authorities and Public Services in the last 12 months, 2016 to 2017

Table 3(b) Individuals' contact over the internet with public authorities and public services in the last 12 months, 2016 to 2017
							% of individuals
		Obtaining information from websites or apps		Downloading/printing official forms		Submitting completed forms online		Unweighted sample 2017
		Obtaining information from websites or apps		Downloading/printing official forms		Submitting completed forms online
		2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017
State		49	51	46	45	58	63	6,135
Sex
	Male	52	53	48	46	60	64	2,406
	Female	46	49	43	45	56	62	3,729
Age group
	16-29	31	40	29	36	37	47	732
	30-44	57	60	54	54	67	73	2,262
	45-59	54	52	51	45	67	68	1,843
	60-74	51	47	44	39	57	58	1,298
Principal economic status
	At work	58	59	55	53	70	74	3,685
	Unemployed	31	35	24	30	37	43	345
	Student	25	37	24	34	29	41	276
	Home duties	38	38	34	32	45	47	837
	Retired	54	47	48	39	62	58	747
	Other	38	36	36	29	42	41	245
Region
	Border	46	46	36	39	55	58	602
	Midlands	49	46	46	39	55	59	358
	West	47	52	41	45	51	62	542
	Dublin	54	57	52	50	64	67	1,901
	Mid-East	52	54	51	52	61	66	652
	Mid-West	47	54	41	43	51	64	520
	South-East	49	53	47	50	57	62	757
	South-West	38	39	38	34	55	60	803
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	50	55	47	49	61	68	6,002
	Narrowband	58	*	52	*	53	*	24
	No internet	29	31	27	20	30	33	109
	Unknown internet	*	*	*	*	*	*	0
Household composition
	1 Adult no dependent children	49	52	44	44	56	63	926
	2 Adults no dependent children	56	54	50	48	65	67	1,249
	3 or more adults no dependent children	41	51	40	44	49	57	987
	1 Adult with dependent children	38	44	36	36	46	49	430
	2 Adults with dependent children	54	53	51	48	64	70	2,069
	3 or more adults with dependent children	39	43	37	41	49	55	474
Number of persons at work in the household
	No persons at work in the household	35	34	30	30	39	42	1,283
	One person at work in the household	47	51	43	44	56	62	2,062
	Two persons at work in the household	58	58	57	51	70	74	2,316
	Three or more persons at work in the household	47	53	44	48	56	62	474
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who used the internet in the previous 12 months.
Note 3: Contacts through manually typed e-mails are excluded.
Note 4: Respondents may have selected more than one option.
Note 5: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.

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Show Table 3(c) Individuals who did not submit completed forms online to public authorities by reasons for not doing so, 2016 to 2017

Table 3(c) Individuals who did not submit completed official forms online by their reasons for not doing so, 2016 to 2017
												% of individuals
		Did not have to submit official forms at all		No such website service available		Lack of skills or knowledge		Concerns about protection/security of personal data		Another person did it on my behalf¹		Other reason		Unweighted sample 2017


		2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017
State		44	49	1	1	6	7	3	5	25	23	22	15	2,162
Sex
	Male	45	49	1	1	6	7	2	6	23	22	24	17	780
	Female	43	49	1	1	7	8	4	5	28	24	20	14	1,382
Age group
	16-29	64	72	1	1	2	2	1	2	14	9	19	13	354
	30-44	41	47	1	1	5	7	3	6	27	21	23	18	632
	45-59	25	31	0	1	11	13	3	7	36	37	25	15	602
	60-74	19	23	0	1	15	13	9	10	39	41	21	19	574
Principal economic status
	At work	39	46	1	2	7	6	3	5	29	25	23	16	935
	Unemployed	53	48	0	1	6	10	1	8	19	14	21	22	181
	Student	67	78	1	1	0	0	1	0	11	10	19	9	141
	Home duties	31	37	1	1	8	11	4	6	37	31	20	17	445
	Retired	19	26	0	1	15	13	10	11	33	38	26	17	323
	Other	46	50	0	0	10	11	1	7	21	21	24	16	137
Region
	Border	34	37	0	1	12	10	4	3	30	30	21	22	265
	Midlands	33	43	1	1	14	12	7	11	18	14	31	20	129
	West	51	58	1	2	6	8	3	5	19	16	20	12	202
	Dublin	55	61	2	1	5	6	3	5	23	19	14	10	599
	Mid-East	33	51	0	1	3	4	1	6	28	24	36	15	202
	Mid-West	54	50	1	3	6	12	2	6	20	20	19	11	189
	South-East	41	36	0	0	3	5	3	7	30	30	23	24	264
	South-West	36	42	1	1	5	6	3	3	32	30	24	16	312
Household composition
	1 Adult no dependent children	44	48	1	2	13	13	3	7	12	14	29	19	372
	2 Adults no dependent children	31	35	2	3	11	12	6	7	33	29	21	16	447
	3 or more adults no dependent children	58	57	0	1	3	4	3	5	19	18	17	17	407
	1 Adult with dependent children	54	56	1	1	7	7	2	4	11	16	26	18	186
	2 Adults with dependent children	35	49	1	1	4	6	2	5	39	28	21	12	559
	3 or more adults with dependent children	52	48	1	0	4	5	4	2	21	28	20	14	191
Number of persons at work in the household
	No persons at work in the household	46	44	0	1	8	12	3	6	19	21	24	19	696
	One person at work in the household	43	47	1	2	7	7	3	7	26	24	22	15	736
	Two persons at work in the household	40	53	1	1	5	5	3	3	33	25	18	13	568
	Three or more persons at work in the household	50	60	1	0	2	2	3	4	22	20	24	16	162
¹Examples include consultant, tax adviser, relative, family member, etc.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who used the internet in the previous 12 months.
Note 3: Respondents may have selected more than one option.

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Individuals: Shared economy

In 2017, internet users were asked if they had used any website or app to arrange accommodation (such as a room, apartment, house, holiday cottage, etc.) or transport service (such as car, etc.) from another private individual in the previous twelve months. Over one fifth (21%) said that they had arranged accommodation from another private individual via a dedicated website or app, such as AIRBNB, while 10% had arranged accommodation in such a way via other websites or apps (including social networks such as Facebook, etc.). Nearly three quarters (74%) had not arranged accommodation online from another private individual in the previous twelve months. See table 3d.

Nearly one fifth (19%) of internet users had used a dedicated website or app (such as UBER, HAILO, etc.) to arrange a transport service from another private individual in the previous twelve months. Just 4% had done so via other websites or apps (including social networks such as Facebook, etc.). Nearly four fifths (79%) had not arranged a transport service online from another private individual in the last twelve months. See table 3d.

Show Table 3(d) Individuals who arranged accommodation or transport service online from another private individual in the last 12 months, 2017

Table 3(d) Individuals who used any website or app to arrange accommodation or transport service from another private individual in the last 12 months, 2017¹
							% of individuals
		Arranged accommodation² from another private individual online			Arranged transport⁵ from another private individual online
		Via dedicated website or app³	Via other website or app⁴	Did not use any website or app	Via dedicated website or app⁶	Via other website or app⁴	Did not use any website or app	Unweighted sample

State		21	10	74	19	4	79	6,135
Sex
	Male	21	11	74	20	4	78	2,406
	Female	21	9	74	17	4	80	3,729
Age group
	16-29	19	10	76	27	4	71	732
	30-44	25	12	69	22	5	76	2,262
	45-59	20	9	76	12	3	87	1,843
	60-74	12	6	83	6	2	92	1,298
Principal economic status
	At work	26	12	69	23	5	75	3,685
	Unemployed	10	7	85	9	5	88	345
	Student	12	7	84	23	1	75	276
	Home duties	17	8	79	7	2	91	837
	Retired	13	6	83	6	3	92	747
	Other	12	5	86	9	3	88	245
Region
	Border	15	6	80	8	2	89	602
	Midlands	16	6	80	7	1	93	358
	West	28	14	66	23	8	73	542
	Dublin	24	12	70	35	5	64	1,901
	Mid-East	20	6	78	10	0	90	652
	Mid-West	25	16	65	19	3	80	520
	South-East	16	10	80	6	5	91	757
	South-West	18	8	78	10	4	86	803
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	22	10	73	18	4	80	6,002
	Narrowband	*	*	*	*	*	*	24
	No internet	9	5	89	8	2	92	109
	Unknown internet	*	*	*	*	*	*	0
Household composition
	1 Adult no dependent children	21	10	76	19	4	79	926
	2 Adults no dependent children	24	12	70	22	5	76	1,249
	3 or more adults no dependent children	23	12	71	29	5	70	987
	1 Adult with dependent children	12	5	85	10	3	88	430
	2 Adults with dependent children	21	10	73	14	3	84	2,069
	3 or more adults with dependent children	17	7	79	17	3	80	474
Number of persons at work in the household
	No persons at work in the household	11	6	85	10	2	87	1,283
	One person at work in the household	19	9	77	15	3	83	2,062
	Two persons at work in the household	25	12	69	21	4	77	2,316
	Three or more persons at work in the household	25	13	69	33	6	65	474
¹Respondents may have selected more than one option.
²Examples include room, apartment, house, holiday cottage, etc
³Examples include AIRBNB, etc.
⁴Includes social networks such as Facebook, etc.
⁵Examples include car, etc.
⁶Examples include UBER , HAILO, etc.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who used the internet in the previous 12 months.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.

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Individuals: Internet purchases

Clothes or sports goods were the most popular online purchase in 2017, purchased by 44% of individuals. The next most common types of internet purchases made by individuals in the last twelve months (prior to interview) were Tickets for events and Holiday accommodation, both at 37%, followed closely by Other travel arrangements at 36%. See table 4a and figure 4.

There are clear differences between age groups in the types of goods and services bought online. The largest difference was for Clothes or sports goods, with 57% of individuals aged 16 to 29 years purchasing these, compared with 14% of those aged 60 to 74. See table 4a.

Over half of those living in households where two or more persons were at work, bought Clothes or sports goods, while nearly half (47%) of such individuals bought Tickets for events online. See table 4a.

Nearly half of all persons who purchased online in the previous twelve months, whose principal economic status was At work, used the internet to buy or order Holiday accommodation and Other travel arrangements (such as travel tickets, car hire, etc.). See table 4a.

Type of online purchase	Type of online purchase
Clothes,sports goods	43.5
Tickets for events	37.1
Holiday accommodation	36.6
Other travel arrangements	36.4
Household goods	21.4
Telecommunication services	18.7
Books,magazines,newspapers	17.4
Electronic equipment	17.3
Films,music	15.3
Video games,software,software upgrades	9.5
Food, Groceries	7.7
Computer hardware	3.5
E-learning material	3.2
Medicine	1.3
Other	8.0

Show Table 4(a) Individuals that use the internet classified by types of purchases made online during the last 12 months, 2017

Table 4(a) Individuals that use the internet classified by types of purchases made online during the last 12 months, 2017
										% of individuals
		Clothes or sports goods	Holiday accommodation	Other travel arrangements¹	Tickets for events	Household goods	Telecommunication services	Electronic equipment²	Books, magazines and newspapers³	E-books⁴	E-magazines/ e-newspapers⁴

State		44	37	36	37	21	19	17	17	7	2
Sex
	Male	36	36	37	36	20	22	24	17	7	2
	Female	51	37	36	38	23	16	11	18	7	2
Age group
	16-29	57	31	34	46	17	20	22	16	7	3
	30-44	51	47	46	43	31	24	20	20	8	2
	45-59	33	34	32	30	17	16	14	16	6	2
	60-74	14	21	23	15	10	8	7	14	5	2
Principal economic status
	At work	48	46	45	44	25	23	20	20	9	2
	Unemployed	28	15	16	14	13	9	14	11	2	1
	Student	57	22	28	46	10	16	22	17	6	3
	Home duties	40	28	26	26	27	13	10	14	5	1
	Retired	14	23	24	15	8	8	8	15	6	2
	Other	19	14	13	14	16	8	9	7	2	1
Region
	Border	38	26	24	28	19	12	11	12	4	1
	Midland	43	28	20	29	18	27	11	11	3	1
	West	50	40	40	37	22	17	20	19	7	2
	Dublin	46	41	45	45	25	25	22	20	8	3
	Mid-East	40	33	29	35	18	12	11	16	6	2
	Mid-West	42	38	38	35	12	17	20	14	9	3
	South-East	40	32	33	29	20	18	17	15	5	1
	South-West	46	42	39	40	25	14	17	21	10	2
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	44	37	37	38	22	19	18	18	7	2
	Narrowband	19	15	21	1	18	.	10	5	1	0
	No internet	14	11	13	9	2	0	3	6	1	0
	Unknown internet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	26	28	29	26	14	17	14	14	7	2
	2 adults no dependent children	36	43	42	37	17	18	18	18	8	2
	3 or more adults no dependent children	47	37	39	44	13	17	21	18	7	3
	1 adult with dependent children	46	21	20	31	24	17	11	15	4	1
	2 adults with dependent children	51	42	41	41	31	22	18	20	8	2
	3 or more adults with dependent children	44	26	27	28	18	17	14	11	4	2
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	23	15	16	16	13	9	11	10	4	1
	1	40	34	33	33	20	18	16	18	6	2
	2	53	47	47	47	27	24	20	21	9	3
	3+	52	39	40	47	16	18	21	16	7	2

¹Includes travel tickets, car hire, etc. Excludes holiday accommodation.
²Includes cameras, audio-visual equipment, etc.
³Includes all online purchases of books, magazines and newspaperse-books. Includes e-books, e-magazines and e-newspapers downloaded or accessed from websites or apps.
⁴Downloaded or accessed from websites or apps
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who made purchases online in the last 12 months.
Note 3: More than one type of purchase may be given by respondents.
Table 4(a) contd. Individuals that use the internet classified by types of purchases made online during the last 12 months, 2017
										% of individuals
		Films/music⁵	Films/music downloaded or accessed from websites/apps	Video games, software and software upgrades⁶	Computer software⁷ downloaded or accessed from websites/apps	Food and Groceries	Computer hardware	E-learning material	Medicine	Other

State		15	12	10	5	8	4	3	1	8
Sex
	Male	17	14	12	7	7	5	3	1	9
	Female	14	11	7	2	9	2	3	1	7
Age group
	16-29	20	16	13	7	8	5	4	1	7
	30-44	19	15	12	5	11	4	4	2	9
	45-59	11	8	6	4	6	3	2	1	8
	60-74	5	3	2	1	2	2	2	1	8
Principal economic status
	At work	18	15	10	5	10	4	3	2	9
	Unemployed	7	5	10	6	4	2	2	2	7
	Student	20	15	13	8	4	6	5	.	6
	Home duties	9	7	8	2	8	2	3	1	7
	Retired	4	3	3	1	2	2	1	0	7
	Other	9	8	7	3	4	3	1	3	8
Region
	Border	9	6	10	4	4	2	3	1	9
	Midland	8	5	6	1	7	2	3	0	9
	West	16	14	11	7	8	5	3	2	7
	Dublin	21	17	12	6	12	4	3	1	7
	Mid-East	14	11	7	4	6	2	3	1	9
	Mid-West	12	9	7	3	3	4	4	1	9
	South-East	12	8	8	4	7	4	3	3	10
	South-West	15	13	9	3	6	5	3	1	8
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	16	12	10	5	8	4	3	1	8
	Narrowband	7	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
	No internet	6	3	1	0	2	0	1	0	3
	Unknown internet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	13	10	7	3	6	2	3	1	9
	2 adults no dependent children	14	12	6	4	7	3	4	1	9
	3 or more adults no dependent children	18	15	10	4	6	4	2	1	7
	1 adult with dependent children	11	8	9	4	6	3	3	1	7
	2 adults with dependent children	17	13	12	6	11	4	4	2	8
	3 or more adults with dependent children	13	9	12	6	6	3	3	1	6
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	7	6	8	4	4	3	2	1	6
	1	14	11	9	4	7	4	3	2	8
	2	19	15	11	5	11	4	4	1	9
	3+	18	15	9	5	5	2	3	1	9

⁵Films/music downloaded or accessed from websites or apps.
⁶Includes computer software downloaded or accessed from websites or apps.
⁷Includes computer and video games and software upgrades.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who made purchases online in the last 12 months.
Note 3: More than one type of purchase may be given by respondents.

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Individuals: Problems encountered when purchasing online

Nearly four fifths (79%) of persons who made purchases online in the previous twelve months did not experience any problems. One in ten stated that Speed of delivery was an issue, while 7% cited Technical failure of the website and 6% stated that the Foreign retailer did not sell to Ireland. Just 2% of respondents cited Problems with fraudulent activity while 3% of individuals had problems with Wrong or damaged goods/services delivered. See table 4b.

Show Table 4(b) Individuals who purchased online in the last 12 months classified by problems encountered when buying online, 2017

Table 4(b) Individuals who made purchases online in the last 12 months classified by problems encountered when buying online, 2017
							% of individuals
Problems encountered
		Speed of delivery	Technical failure of the website¹	Foreign retailer did not sell to Ireland	Poor customer service	Wrong or damaged goods/services delivered	Final costs higher than indicated	Poor information re guarantees/other legal rights	Problems with fraudulent activity	Other	No problems encountered
		Speed of delivery	Technical failure of the website¹	Foreign retailer did not sell to Ireland	Poor customer service	Wrong or damaged goods/services delivered	Final costs higher than indicated	Poor information re guarantees/other legal rights	Problems with fraudulent activity	Other	No problems encountered

State		10	7	6	4	3	3	2	2	1	79
Sex
	Male	11	8	7	4	4	3	2	2	1	78
	Female	9	6	5	4	3	3	2	2	2	79
Age group
	16-29	10	5	7	4	2	3	2	2	1	80
	30-44	11	8	6	4	4	3	3	2	1	76
	45-59	8	8	5	5	3	2	2	3	2	80
	60-74	5	6	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	84
Principal economic status
	At work	10	8	6	4	4	3	2	2	1	77
	Unemployed	13	8	3	4	2	1	1	0	.	80
	Student	9	4	6	3	3	3	1	3	1	82
	Home duties	9	6	4	3	3	2	2	1	2	81
	Retired	5	3	4	4	1	3	3	2	4	82
	Other	9	8	4	6	4	2	5	4	1	76
Region
	Border	6	10	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	84
	Midland	7	3	2	4	3	1	1	.	1	86
	West	11	10	6	3	4	2	3	3	0	75
	Dublin	11	9	8	5	4	4	3	2	1	76
	Mid-East	7	4	2	3	2	2	1	1	1	86
	Mid-West	10	6	6	5	6	2	2	4	1	75
	South-East	9	3	3	3	1	2	2	3	1	81
	South-West	11	6	8	6	3	2	1	2	3	77
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	10	7	6	4	3	3	2	2	1	79
	Narrowband	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	86
	No internet	11	5	0	4	4	0	4	3	2	72
	Unknown internet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	8	10	6	5	4	3	3	2	2	76
	2 adults no dependent children	7	7	6	3	3	2	3	2	2	80
	3 or more adults no dependent children	10	7	7	5	3	2	2	2	1	77
	1 adult with dependent children	15	5	5	6	4	3	2	2	1	76
	2 adults with dependent children	11	7	5	4	3	3	2	2	1	79
	3 or more adults with dependent children	7	6	4	2	2	3	1	1	2	83
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	9	4	5	4	3	1	2	3	1	82
	1	10	7	5	5	3	3	2	2	2	78
	2	10	8	6	4	4	3	2	2	1	78
	3+	8	5	7	4	2	3	2	3	0	78
¹During ordering or payment.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who made purchases online in the last 12 months.
Note 3: More than one reason may be given by respondents.

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Individuals: Number of internet purchases and origin of seller

The number of purchases made online in 2017 has increased when compared with the same period in 2016. Over one quarter (26%) of individuals purchased online six or more times in the previous three months, an increase of four percentage points on 2016. Between six and ten internet purchases were made by 17% of persons, while 9% purchased eleven times or more over the internet. Over four in ten (41%) had made three to five online purchases, as in 2016. This compares with 33% of individuals purchasing only once or twice online, a fall of five percentage points on 2016. See Table 4c.

Over two thirds (67%) of persons who bought or ordered goods or services online in the previous twelve months used Sellers from other EU countries, an increase of nine percentage points on the same period in 2016. Internet purchasing from Sellers from the rest of the world also increased in 2017 - 30% compared with 23% of persons buying online in 2016. Online purchasing from National sellers still remains by far the most common with nearly three quarters (74%) of persons buying or ordering their goods or services from National sellers. This represents a fall of five percentage points on the corresponding figure for 2016 (79%). See table 4d and figure 5.

In 2017, individuals who bought or ordered goods or services online in the previous twelve months from Sellers from other EU countries and/or from Sellers from the rest of the world were asked about the types of goods or services that they bought or ordered online. Note that respondents may have selected more than one option. Three quarters (75%) purchased physical goods such as electronics, clothes, toys, food, groceries, books, CDs/DVDs, etc. while 54% made holiday arrangements including travel accommodation. Nearly one third (31%) downloaded or accessed from websites or apps such products as films, music, apps, games, e-books, e-newspapers, etc. See table 4e.

Show Table 4(c) Individuals who purchased online in the last 3 months classified by number of purchases made in the same period, 2017

Table 4(c) Individuals who purchased over the internet in the last 3 months classified by number of purchases made in this period, 2016 to 2017
									% of individuals
		Number of internet purchases made								Unweighted sample
		1 to 2		3 to 5		6 to 10		More than 10
		2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017

State		38	33	41	41	14	17	8	9	3,033
Sex
	Male	38	33	41	42	13	17	8	8	1,114
	Female	37	33	42	41	14	17	7	9	1,919
Age group
	16-29	46	32	40	45	11	17	3	7	490
	30-44	32	31	43	40	15	18	11	10	1,389
	45-59	38	36	41	39	14	16	8	9	803
	60-74	43	44	40	38	13	14	5	4	351
Principal economic status
	At work	34	31	43	42	14	18	9	9	2,094
	Unemployed	48	44	24	37	22	12	6	8	120
	Student	53	33	35	45	9	15	3	7	187
	Home duties	38	38	43	39	14	14	5	9	366
	Retired	44	42	39	39	11	15	6	3	193
	Other	39	38	41	26	8	27	12	10	73
Region
	Border	39	37	45	41	11	16	6	6	249
	Midland	42	43	35	36	13	10	10	11	179
	West	37	35	49	40	11	17	4	7	280
	Dublin	33	28	42	41	16	21	10	10	990
	Mid-East	38	40	38	38	18	14	6	9	280
	Mid-West	46	30	36	43	12	16	6	11	238
	South-East	36	38	47	39	11	18	6	5	378
	South-West	43	31	38	46	10	14	8	10	439
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	38	33	41	41	14	17	8	9	3,006
	Narrowband	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	5
	Unknown internet	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	22
	No internet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	37	38	39	37	20	14	5	11	348
	2 adults no dependent children	40	32	38	43	12	18	10	7	515
	3 or more adults no dependent children	43	33	40	44	13	17	4	7	471
	1 adult with dependent children	38	38	42	38	12	17	8	7	224
	2 adults with dependent children	35	31	43	41	13	17	9	11	1,237
	3 or more adults with dependent children	37	34	46	38	12	21	5	6	238
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	46	43	36	33	13	17	6	7	368
	1	39	32	41	44	14	16	7	9	999
	2	36	32	43	41	16	18	6	9	1,408
	3+	35	32	43	42	13	19	9	7	258
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who made purchases online in the previous 3 months.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.

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Country of origin/residence of seller	National sellers	Sellers from other EU country	Sellers from rest of world	Unknown origin
2017	74	67	30	4
2016	79	58	23	4

Show Table 4(d) Individuals who bought or ordered goods or services online in the last 12 months by region of seller, 2016 to 2017

Table 4(d) Individuals who bought or ordered goods or services online in the last 12 months by origin¹ of seller, 2016 to 2017
									% of individuals
		National sellers		Sellers from other EU countries		Sellers from the rest of the world		Country of origin of seller is unknown		Unweighted sample 2017
		2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	Unweighted sample 2017
State		79	74	58	67	23	30	4	4	3,678
	Sex
	Male	79	74	60	67	26	33	4	5	1,380
	Female	80	75	56	66	21	28	4	4	2,298
Age group
	16-29	73	68	55	68	21	32	5	6	572
	30-44	82	76	60	69	24	32	4	4	1,633
	45-59	80	79	60	64	25	26	4	4	1,003
	60-74	80	76	54	60	22	23	4	5	470
Principal economic status
	At work	82	77	63	69	24	32	3	4	2,495
	Unemployed	74	57	53	59	19	34	3	3	162
	Student	69	65	51	64	22	27	5	8	213
	Home duties	78	72	48	63	18	26	6	4	439
	Retired	79	82	56	60	27	21	4	3	272
	Other	72	82	43	67	20	31	3	8	97
Region
	Border	91	81	58	48	23	16	0	2	307
	Midlands	85	75	42	59	13	18	2	5	220
	West	78	76	47	56	15	25	1	6	346
	Dublin	79	76	64	77	26	39	5	6	1,207
	Mid-East	73	72	53	62	22	25	4	2	357
	Mid-West	82	75	63	70	26	33	3	5	293
	South-East	78	73	61	64	26	35	4	3	445
	South-West	75	69	57	68	21	27	6	3	503
Type of household Internet connection
	Broadband	80	74	59	67	23	30	4	4	3,640
	Narrowband	81	*	63	*	30	*	8	*	8
	No internet	[78]	[76]	[43]	[59]	[17]	[20]	[2]	[5]	30
	Unknown internet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	79	71	60	68	28	33	3	3	428
	2 adults no dependent children	81	79	60	70	24	33	4	3	649
	3 or more adults no dependent children	79	72	59	72	21	34	4	5	578
	1 adult with dependent children	75	71	49	57	18	21	5	7	273
	2 adults with dependent children	81	76	59	65	22	29	3	5	1,472
	3 or more adults with dependent children	74	70	56	65	26	29	6	5	278
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	74	68	49	61	20	27	5	6	492
	1	78	71	56	62	23	30	4	5	1,212
	2	82	78	62	70	24	30	3	3	1,668
	3+	79	75	62	74	26	35	4	7	306
¹Country of origin/residence of seller.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who use the internet.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.
Note 4: Figures in parentheses [ ] indicate percentages based on small numbers (sample size 30 to 49), and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

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Show Table 4(e) Individuals who purchased online from sellers from other EU countries or the rest of the world classified by product type, 2017

Table 4(e) Individuals who bought or ordered goods or services online from sellers from other EU countries or from the rest of the world by type of purchase, 2017
% of individuals
		Physical goods¹	Products downloaded or accessed from websites or apps²	Travel accomodation or holiday arrangements³	Other services⁴	Unweighted sample
State		75	31	54	30	2,689
	Gender
	Male	73	38	56	30	1,039
	Female	76	26	51	31	1,650
Age group
	16-29	77	38	44	35	444
	30-44	76	31	59	28	1,221
	45-59	72	26	56	28	712
	60-74	59	22	59	24	312
Principal economic status
	At work	74	32	60	30	1,860
	Unemployed	81	17	33	20	117
	Student	82	43	39	43	166
	Home duties	72	20	47	25	306
	Retired	60	20	56	30	177
	Other	74	34	25	22	63
Region
	Border	60	26	49	26	157
	Midlands	76	19	51	27	146
	West	74	31	59	41	216
	Dublin	75	41	61	30	989
	Mid-East	74	18	39	26	257
	Mid-West	82	43	61	43	216
	South-East	77	20	49	34	333
	South-West	73	25	45	20	375
Household composition
	1 Adult no dependent children	69	36	56	31	310
	2 Adults no dependent children	71	32	63	31	490
	3 or more adults no dependent children	75	42	58	39	441
	1 Adult with dependent children	79	22	32	23	174
	2 Adults with dependent children	75	28	54	28	1,071
	3 or more adults with dependent children	84	20	35	22	203
Number of persons at work in the household
	No persons at work in the household	75	26	38	26	327
	One person at work in the household	75	31	53	27	873
	Two persons at work in the household	75	31	57	31	1,255
	Three or more persons at work in the household	75	38	55	38	234
¹Examples include electronics, clothes, toys, food, groceries, books, CDs/DVDs, etc.
²Examples include films, music, apps, games, e-books, e-newspapers, etc.
³Includes tickets and documents received via mail or printed by respondent.
⁴Examples include tickets for events received via mail, telecom subscriptions, etc.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2:Represents individuals who bought or ordered goods or services online from sellers from other EU countries or the rest of the world in the last 12 months.
Note 3: Respondents may have selected more than one option.

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Individuals: Internet storage and file sharing

Data for 2017 indicates that 52% of internet users used storage space on the internet to save files (such as documents, pictures, music, videos, etc.) - an increase of seven percentage points on 2016 (45%). Over two thirds (67%) of internet users in the 16-29 years age group used storage space on the internet (cloud storage) as a method of saving files in 2017, compared with 57% of individuals in the 30-44 years age category. By comparison, only one quarter of individuals in the 60-74 years age group used cloud storage. See table 5.

Three quarters of Students used cloud storage in 2017, an increase of nine percentage points on 2016 (66%). When comparing males' and females' use of storage space on the internet, more males than females use this form of file storage - 55% of males versus 49% of females in 2017 used cloud storage. This follows the same trend as in previous years. See table 5 and figure 6.

	2015	2016	2017
Male	46.2	47.3	54.5
Female	41.4	42.3	49.4

	2015	2016	2017
Male	46.2	47.3	54.5
Female	41.4	42.3	49.4

Show Table 5 Percentage of individuals that use the internet to store files electronically, classified by personal characteristics, 2014 to 2017

Table 5 Individuals that use the internet to store files electronically classified by personal characteristics, 2015 to 2017
	% of individuals who used the internet in the last 3 months
		2015	2016	2017	Unweighted sample 2017
		2015	2016	2017	Unweighted sample 2017
State		44	45	52	6,022
Sex
	Male	46	47	55	2,347
	Female	41	42	49	3,675
Age group
	16-29	56	56	67	729
	30-44	48	50	57	2,243
	45-59	33	36	40	1,810
	60-74	22	21	25	1,240
Principal economic status
	At work	47	49	56	3,642
	Unemployed	35	35	34	339
	Student	60	66	75	275
	Home duties	28	26	37	821
	Retired	26	23	24	708
	Other	28	31	35	237
Region
	Border	35	41	40	589
	Midland	43	43	56	1,866
	West	36	36	57	636
	Dublin	51	51	57	352
	Mid-East	48	48	52	512
	Mid-West	36	38	54	746
	South-East	41	50	45	790
	South-West	42	37	47	531
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	38	40	43	905
	2 adults no dependent children	45	43	48	1,212
	3 or more adults no dependent children	48	48	57	972
	1 adult with dependent children	37	42	46	422
	2 adults with dependent children	45	47	57	2,044
	3 or more adults with dependent children	42	44	46	467
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	33	33	31	1,237
	1	41	42	49	2,023
	2	50	52	60	2,293
	3+	51	50	60	469

Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74.
Note 3: Files include documents, pictures, music, video or other files.

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Individuals: Online learning

Respondents were asked about their learning activities over the internet for educational, professional or private purposes in the three months prior to interview. The percentage of individuals Doing an online course remained unchanged on 2016 (5%). The situation is similar for persons Using online learning material other than a complete online course (includes audio-visual materials, online learning software, electronic textbooks, etc.) - 11% as in 2016. Nearly four in every ten (39%) Students were Communicating with instructors or students online in 2017, an increase of three percentage points on 2016, while 28% of Students were Using online learning material other than a complete online course, and 8% were Doing an online course. See table 6.

Show Table 6 Individuals who used online learning activities for educational, professional or private purpose, by personal characteristics, 2016 to 2017

Table 6 Individuals that have used online learning activities for educational, professional or private purposes in the last 3 months, by personal characteristics, 2016 to 2017
									% of individuals
		Doing an online course		Using online learning material other than complete online course		Communicating with instructors or students		Other		Unweighted sample 2017
		2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	Unweighted sample 2017
State		5	5	11	11	8	9	1	1	6,022
	Sex
	Male	6	6	13	12	9	9	1	1	2,347
	Female	5	5	10	10	7	9	1	1	3,675
Age Group
	16-29	6	7	19	18	18	20	1	1	729
	30-44	7	6	11	10	6	7	1	1	2,243
	45-59	4	4	7	8	4	4	1	1	1,810
	60-74	2	2	5	4	2	3	1	1	1,240
Principal Economic Status
	At work	7	6	10	10	5	6	1	1	3,642
	Unemployed	5	6	6	10	3	7	1	0	339
	Student	7	8	34	28	36	39	2	2	275
	Home duties	2	2	4	4	2	2	0	1	821
	Retired	2	2	5	4	2	2	0	1	708
	Other	2	4	9	5	6	6	3	1	237
Region
	Border	4	3	9	8	5	4	1	0	589
	Midlands	5	5	13	7	9	5	0	0	352
	West	4	10	12	16	5	13	0	.	531
	Dublin	7	7	13	14	10	10	1	1	1,866
	Mid-East	5	4	13	8	8	8	1	3	636
	Mid-West	5	4	9	9	11	19	0	1	512
	South-East	4	6	11	8	11	7	2	2	746
	South-West	5	4	7	10	5	7	0	2	790
Type of household internet connection
	Broadband	6	5	11	11	8	9	1	1	5,904
	Narrowband	4	*	8	*	8	*	0	1	23
	No internet	5	1	6	1	3	1	0	1	95
	Unknown internet	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	0
Household composition
	1 adult, no dependent children	5	5	10	11	6	6	1	1	905
	2 adults no dependent children	5	5	10	10	6	7	0	1	1,212
	3 or more adults no dependent children	8	6	15	14	14	18	0	1	972
	1 adult with dependent children	3	5	8	10	9	9	2	1	422
	2 adults with dependent children	6	6	11	10	7	7	1	1	2,044
	3 or more adults with dependent children	5	4	13	9	7	7	1	2	467
Number of persons at work in the household
	0	3	3	11	10	11	9	1	1	1,237
	1	5	6	10	10	7	8	1	1	2,023
	2	7	6	12	11	7	9	1	1	2,293
	3+	8	6	11	15	11	17	0	2	469

Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who use the internet.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.

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Individuals: E-skills

Respondents were asked about the computer or mobile device related activities and software related activities which they carried out in the twelve months prior to interview. Installing software or apps was carried out by over half of all individuals (53%), an increase of three percentage points on 2016, with 70% of Students carrying out this software related activity. Over two thirds (69%) of persons in the 16-29 years age group carried out this activity, compared with one quarter of persons in the 60-74 years age category. Using software to edit photos, video or audio files was carried out by 30% of individuals in 2017, with over half (51%) of Students carrying out this software related activity. Writing code in a programming language was carried out by 13% of Students. Nearly half (47%) of individuals whose principal economic status was At work, used basic spreadsheet software while 28% used more advanced functions to organise and analyse data, such as sorting, filtering, using formulas, creating charts, etc. See table 7.

Show Table 7 Individuals who carried out software related activities in the last 12 months, classified by personal characteristics, 2016 to 2017

Table 7 Individuals who carried out computer¹ or software related activities in the last 12 months, classified by personal characteristics, 2016 to 2017
																				% of individuals
		Copying or moving files or folders		Using word processing software		Creating presentations or documents²		Using spreadsheet software		Using advanced functions to organise and analyse data³		Using software to edit photos, video or audio files		Writing code in a programming language		Transferring files between computers or other devices		Installing software or apps		Changing the settings of any software⁴		Unweighted sample 2017


		2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017	2016	2017
State		48	51	50	55	34	40	31	42	21	24	27	30	5	6	43	46	50	53	32	37	6,135
	Sex
	Male	53	53	53	58	38	43	35	45	24	28	30	33	8	9	49	51	55	58	38	43	2,406
	Female	43	48	48	53	31	37	27	39	18	21	25	26	3	3	37	41	45	48	27	32	3,729
Age group
	16-29	57	62	59	66	47	57	32	54	21	34	36	41	8	10	55	59	62	69	39	51	732
	30-44	52	55	53	58	37	41	36	45	26	28	31	34	6	7	48	51	56	58	37	42	2,262
	45-59	41	42	46	49	28	30	29	35	19	18	20	21	3	3	35	37	40	41	25	27	1,843
	60-74	29	28	32	37	13	17	15	20	9	7	11	10	1	1	22	20	25	25	15	15	1,298
Principal economic status
	At work	54	56	56	60	38	43	38	47	26	28	30	32	6	6	48	51	55	57	36	41	3,685
	Unemployed	31	44	32	47	18	31	16	30	9	18	20	26	3	6	30	38	41	47	21	31	345
	Student	72	73	76	80	69	77	40	68	29	42	45	51	13	13	69	70	69	70	48	55	276
	Home duties	23	24	26	29	11	12	9	16	5	5	12	15	1	1	21	21	30	31	15	19	837
	Retired	30	25	34	34	12	12	14	16	8	6	12	9	1	1	23	20	27	26	16	16	747
	Other	25	27	30	31	16	12	16	14	9	7	12	12	4	1	22	22	32	43	21	23	245
Region
	Border	43	44	47	47	26	32	25	35	16	19	24	22	3	2	37	39	47	52	29	32	602
	Midlands	40	33	47	53	33	31	26	35	16	13	28	29	8	4	40	34	54	53	33	32	358
	West	53	58	50	57	33	42	32	46	22	24	20	29	5	6	56	56	50	56	35	40	542
	Dublin	59	59	61	65	44	49	41	51	30	31	34	33	8	8	53	54	61	63	42	46	1,901
	Mid-East	37	34	41	42	26	31	28	34	17	19	24	25	5	5	32	31	43	44	24	25	652
	Mid-West	47	62	46	58	31	45	26	48	15	35	28	45	5	8	39	56	43	55	23	46	520
	South-East	44	44	44	46	31	30	27	33	18	21	28	31	3	5	41	41	44	45	32	33	757
	South-West	42	51	47	55	30	37	23	36	14	19	21	23	4	3	35	41	39	40	24	29	803
Type of household Internet connection
	Broadband	48	51	51	56	35	40	31	42	22	25	28	30	5	6	44	47	51	54	33	38	6,002
	Narrowband	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	24
	No internet	26	19	25	26	13	14	19	18	10	7	11	10	6	1	17	18	25	20	14	13	109
	Unknown internet	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	0
Household compostion
	1 Adult no dependent children	46	49	47	54	31	36	30	40	19	24	24	25	6	6	40	42	46	50	29	36	926
	2 Adults no dependent children	45	49	50	55	30	37	31	40	22	24	24	30	6	6	40	45	47	50	31	36	1,249
	3 or more adults no dependent children	52	58	56	64	42	50	32	49	23	32	31	39	6	8	49	55	53	61	33	45	987
	1 Adult with dependent children	38	41	43	49	27	32	21	35	15	19	26	22	4	4	32	35	46	48	27	28	430
	2 Adults with dependent children	50	52	52	56	35	41	34	43	23	24	28	30	6	5	46	48	52	53	35	37	2,069
	3 or more adults with dependent children	46	42	46	44	36	32	27	34	15	18	29	20	4	5	43	38	50	47	30	33	474
Number of persons at work in the household
	No persons at work in the household	34	32	38	36	25	22	19	23	13	13	19	19	4	4	31	28	36	37	21	25	1,283
	One person at work in the household	44	47	47	53	30	36	27	39	18	22	24	27	5	6	40	42	48	49	31	34	2,062
	Two persons at work in the household	57	59	58	64	41	47	39	50	27	29	33	35	6	6	50	53	56	60	38	43	2,316
	Three or more persons at work in the household	56	58	56	60	43	49	35	49	23	32	35	34	6	5	53	57	60	62	37	45	474
¹Includes mobile device related activities.
²Including integrating text, pictures, tables or charts.
³Examples include sorting, filtering, using formulas, creating charts, etc.
⁴Including operational systems or security programs.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16-74 who use the internet.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.
Note 4: Respondents may have selected more than one option.

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Background Notes

Purpose of Survey

The annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey 2017 contributes to the EU requirement under Regulation (EC) No 808/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 concerning Community Statistics on the Information Society (OJ L143, 30.04.2004, p. 49). It covers a range of topics related to internet penetration and use of ICT by households and individuals.

The survey is conducted annually in the first quarter of the year and asks respondents about their ICT activities over the previous 12 months. Each year, the survey includes a specific group of questions relating to a particular area of ICT. In 2017, additional questions relating to the Shared Economy and E-skills were included.

Reference Period

A module on Information Communications Technology (ICT) is included in the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) in the three months from January to March each year (Quarter 1). The questionnaire asks questions about ICT activities for the reference period of twelve months prior to the interviews taking place.

Survey Questionnaire

The ICT Households Survey 2017 was designed in line with the European Community Survey on ICT Usage in Households and By Individuals 2017 Model Questionnaire. The collection of the data under the aforementioned European Regulation implies that harmonised data can be obtained across the European continent.

The 2017 ICT household questionnaire is available at

ICT - Information And Communications Technologies

Data Collection

This survey was carried out as a module of the Quarterly National household Survey (QNHS). The QNHS is a large-scale, nationwide survey of households in Ireland. It is designed to produce quarterly labour force estimates that include the official measures of employment and unemployment in the state using the International Labour Organisation basis.

Information is collected on tablet computers, using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) software.

Sample Design

A two-stage sample design is used. A new sample was introduced in Q4 2012 following the 2011 Census of Population and an additional new sample also based on the 2011 Census of Population is being introduced incrementally from Q3 2016. The sample frame of households is clustered into blocks (small areas) with each block containing a minimum of 60 occupied households on the night of the 2011 Census of Population. In the case of the sample introduced in 2012 the sample frame is stratified using administrative county and population density while the sample introduced in 2016 is stratified using administrative county and the Pobal HP (Haase and Pratschke) Deprivation Index. In the first stage 1,300 blocks are selected using Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) sampling and in the second stage 20 households are selected using Simple Random Sampling (SRS). This ensures that each household in the sample frame has an equal probability of selection and results in a total quarterly sample of 26,000 households. The actual achieved sample varies over time depending on the level of response.

The number of valid responding households in the QNHS in Q1 2017 was 16,116. The corresponding number of valid responding households in the ICT Households Survey in Q1 2017 was 7,885.

Households are asked to take part in the survey for five consecutive quarters and are then replaced by other households in the same block. Thus, one fifth of the households in the survey are replaced each quarter and the QNHS sample involves an overlap of 80% between consecutive quarters and 20% between the same quarter in consecutive years. As the new sample based on the 2011 Census of Population was introduced incrementally across each quarter from Q4 2012 to Q4 2013, the new sample is fully effective from Q4 2013.

The survey results are weighted to agree with population estimates broken down by age, sex and region and are also calibrated to nationality control totals. The population estimates for April of each year are published in a separate release.

Grossing Effect

The QNHS grossing procedure aligns the distribution of persons covered in the sample with independently determined population estimates at the level of sex, five-year age group and NUTS3 region.

The grossing factors applied in the processing of the ICT Household Survey are calculated in the same manner but differ from those that were used in the preparation of the main QNHS estimates as the ICT Household Survey was asked of a sub-sample of the overall QNHS sample on waves two, three and four of the QNHS sample.

Note on Tables

The sum of row or column percentages in the tables in this report may not add to 100.0% due to rounding.

Reliability of Estimates Presented

Estimates for number of persons where there are less than 30 persons in a cell are too small to be considered reliable. These estimates are presented with an asterisk (*) in the relevant tables.

Where there are 30-49 persons in a cell, estimates are considered to have a wider margin of error and should be treated with caution. These cells are presented with parentheses [ ].

In the case of rates, these limits apply to the denominator used in generating the rate. In the case of annual changes, both the current year and the preceding year are taken into account when deciding whether the estimate should be suppressed or flagged as having a wider margin of error.

Classifications Used

Principal Economic Status Classification

Results are also available using the Principal Economic Status (PES) classification which was used in the Labour Force Survey and the Census of Population. The PES classification is based on a single question in which respondents are asked what is their usual situation with regard to employment and given the following response categories:

At work
Unemployed
Student
Engaged on home duties
Retired
Other

Degree of Urbanisation

This classification is created from an aggregation of population density estimates derived from the Census of Population. The categories included in each aggregate are explained below:

Thinly populated area refers to rural areas
Intermediate density area refers to towns and suburbs
Densely populated area refers to cities, urban centres and urban areas

Region

The regional classifications in this release are based on the NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units) classification used by Eurostat. The NUTS3 regions correspond to the eight Regional Authorities established under the Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1993, which came into operation on 1 January 1994. The NUTS2 regions, which were proposed by Government and agreed by Eurostat in 1999, are groupings of the NUTS3 regions. The composition of the regions is set out below.

The composition of the regions is set out below.

Border, Midland and Western NUTS2 Region		Southern and Eastern NUTS2 Region
Border	Cavan	Dublin	Dublin City
	Donegal		Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
	Leitrim		Fingal
	Louth		South Dublin
	Monaghan
	Sligo	Mid-East	Kildare
			Meath
Midland	Laois		Wicklow
	Longford	Mid-West	Clare
	Offaly		Limerick City
	Westmeath		Limerick County
			North Tipperary
West	Galway City
	Galway County	South-East	Carlow
	Mayo		Kilkenny
	Roscommon		South Tipperary
			Waterford City
			Waterford County
			Wexford

		South-West	Cork City
			Cork County
			Kerry

QNHS Social Modules

While the main purpose of the QNHS is the production of quarterly labour force estimates, there is also a provision for the collection of data on social topics through the inclusion of special survey modules. The selection of the major national modules undertaken to date has been largely based on the results of a canvass of users (over 100 organisations) that was conducted by the CSO in 1996, 2002, 2006, 2008 and most recently 2011. The results of the canvass are presented to the National Statistics Board and they are asked to indicate their priorities for the years ahead.

The schedule for social modules in any given year is based on the following structure:

Quarter 1   Accidents and Illness module and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Survey

Quarter 2   EU module (always covered under EU legislation)

Quarter 3   National module

Quarter 4   National module

Some of the social modules published to date in the QNHS are outlined below:

Irish Health Survey 2015

Q3 2015 Crime and Victimisation

Q2 2016 Households and Family Units

Q2 2016 QNHS Union Membership

Q4 2015 Pensions

Q2 2015 Households and Family Units

Q3 2014 Equality Module

Q2 2014 Environment Module

Q3 2013 Volunteering and Wellbeing

Q2 2013 Sport and Physical Exercise

Q3 2012 Effect on Households of the Economic Downturn

Q2 2012 Retirement Planning

Q2 2012 Parental Involvement in Children’s Education

Q2 2012 Union Membership

Q1 2012 Unemployment Thematic Report

Q2 2011 Response of Households to the Economic Downturn - Pilot Module

Q2 2011 Voter Participation

Q4 2010 Equality

Q3 2010 Health Status and Health Service Utilisation

Q2 2010 Cross Border Shopping

Q2 2010 Educational Attainment

Q1 2010 Crime and Victimisation

Q4 2009 Pension Provision

Q3 2009 Carers

Q2 2009 Union Membership

Q2 2009 Cross Border Shopping

Q3 2008 Lifelong Learning

Q4 2007 Childcare

Q3 2007 Health Status and Health Service Utilisation

Q3 2006 Sport and Physical Exercise

More historical social modules published are available at:

http://www.cso.ie/en/qnhs/releasesandpublications/qnhs-specialmodules/qnhs-specialmodulesarchive/.

Participating Households

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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Information Society Statistics - Households

2017

89% of households have access to the internet at home

Households: Type of internet access used

Individuals: Frequency of use of the internet

Individuals: Internet access away from home or work by type of device used

Individuals: Internet activities

Individuals: Use of e-Government

Individuals: Shared economy

Individuals: Internet purchases

Individuals: Problems encountered when purchasing online

Individuals: Number of internet purchases and origin of seller

Individuals: Internet storage and file sharing

Individuals: Online learning

Individuals: E-skills

Background Notes

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