An economist at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown has said some 98pc of small businesses in Ireland still haven't switched on to the benefits of information technology. Mike Smyth, co author new survey of some 200,000 Irish businesses, which reveals that the level of Internet activity here is much lower than had been thought previously. The financial services sector take most advantage of the new technology, according to the survey published in this month's Irish Banking Review, which reports that as many as 30pc of these businesses have e-mail and 25pc have websites.
Larger businesses are responsible for most Internet activity.
The figures for small businesses, however, are much lower. While more than four-fifths of all Irish businesses are small or medium in size, less than 2pc of companies with fewer than 10 employees use the internet. All the glowing surveys published by Chambers of Commerce, the Department and the Information Society Commission are rubbish. It's time somebody called the bluff of all these spin-doctors. Smyth said that instead of telling everybody how great e-mail and the internet is, and publishing surveys showing growing internet access, governments need to help small businesses set up a web presence and move to electronic commerce.