DIGITAL

TGI data provides actionable insights into a whole host of digital issues in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Here are some need-to-know facts emerging from the latest surveys:

• ROI has a greater proportion of adults using the internet (81%) than its counterparts in the UK (80%), Germany (80%), France (78%) and Spain (59%). In Northern Ireland, 71% of adults have used the internet in the past 12 months.

• One in five adults in ROI accessed the internet for the first time in the last 6 months (19% in NI). Moreover, 60% of adults in NI have access to home broadband, rising to 73% in ROI.

• Two- thirds of internet users in ROI have used online video sites in the past 12 months with 13% of these consumers being heavy viewers of online video – watching at least an hour per week. Just 10% of internet users in NI are heavy viewers of online video.

• The most recent internet users in Ireland (used for the first time in the past 6 months) also account for 22% of all users of TV on Demand services, suggesting that new users are in part being attracted to the internet in order to access content offered by traditional media.

• In ROI, 2.2% of consumers own an e-book reader – equating to over 80,000 consumers while 87,000 own a tablet computer. In Northern Ireland, e-book readers and tablet PCs are each owned by around 30,000 consumers – again about 2% of adult the population.

• Women in ROI are 21% more likely to own an e-book reader while Irish men are 32% more likely to own a tablet device. 

• In Northern Ireland, owners of either gadget are more than twice as likely to “be happy to book holidays / flights from companies I have never heard of” and 20% more likely to “like to stand out in a crowd”.

• In the past year, there has been an 11% rise in the proportion of internet users in ROI who make online purchases. In ROI, 62% of internet users have bought a product online in the past 12 months, compared to 51% in Northern Ireland.

• A whopping 44% of internet users in ROI purchase airline tickets online, compared to 27% in GB, 16% in Germany and 13% in France. Almost a third of internet users in Northern Ireland book airline tickets online.

BASE: All Adults 15+ or All Internet Users 15+
SOURCE: Republic of Ireland TGI 2011, Northern Ireland TGI 2011 and Europa TGI 2011 R2