New figures today from the European Commission show that Ireland falls broadly in line with EU averages on broadband connections.
Just 13% of homes in Ireland had a broadband connection in 2006, well below the EU average of 30%. This has now risen to stand at 58% in 2010, close to this year's EU average of 61%.
Figures from Eurostat show that 70% of households across the European Union had access to the internet in the first quarter of 2010. This compares with 49% in the first quarter of 2006.
The number of households with broadband connections doubled to reach 61% this year compared with 30% in 2006. But there are still marked contrasts in the takeup in different member states. Northern countries like Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland have the highest usage and coverage, while southern European countries tend to fall below the European averages.
On the takeup of social media, Ireland falls slightly behind the EU average for use of social media, e-mail and internet phone or video calls known as skype. The highest users of the internet for skype calls are in the new member states such as Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovakia and Latvia.
The largest share of internet access recorded this year was in the Netherlands (91%), Luxembourg (90%), Sweden (88%)), and Denmark (86%). The lowest was seen in Bulgaria (33%), Romania (42%) and Greece (46%).
