One in six referred to some problem in their most recent dealing, the most common ones being queuing or delays in reaching a conclusion. However, use of most forms of 'hi-tech' products and services is higher amongst men, the young, and the better off. A large proportion of the population say that they are willing to try information technology in interacting with government irrespective of their current knowledge or familiarity through use in other contexts provided that it offers benefits to them. This reluctance is more pronounced amongst older people. The majority of such businesses are extremely small, employing fewer than five people.
Most businesses deal with a variety of local and central government and agencies.
Overall, only a small minority found it to difficult to deal with such bodies but a higher proportion expressed dissatisfaction in their dealings with local government and the HSE than with central government. Just over half felt that government demands on business took too much time and 86 per cent agreed with the view that government could become more efficient in dealing with business. The use of IT equipment is closely associated with size of company. One third of respondents rated themselves as 'not at all computer literate'. Some 40 per cent of respondents agreed strongly that they would be interested in dealing with government using new technology.