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Almost 417,000 households in Ireland now have a computer, or around a fifth of the population, and nearly two-thirds of these are connected to the Internet.
The number of home computers with Internet connections has risen from 61,100 in 1998 to 262,700, according to the survey by the Central Statistics Office. This means that the number of home connections more than quadrupled between 1998 and the fourth quarter of 2000.
The findings are based on the CSO's Quarterly National Survey of home computing for the fourth quarter of 2000. Information for the survey was gathered from 39,000 households, 95 percent of which supplied information on home computing.
The figures mean that 20.4 percent of all households in the country have a computer and that 63 percent of these are connected to the Internet.
Computer ownership is highest in Dublin and the Mid-East region, where some 38 percent of homes have a computer, according to the survey. There are about 147,000 home computers in the Dublin area and 48,300 in the Mid-East region.
Elsewhere, about 30 percent of households in the South West and Mid-West have a computer, compared with 29 percent in the South East, 28.5 percent in the Midlands, 27.1 percent in the West, and 25.1 percent in the border counties.
Computer ownership is lowest among those aged 65 and over, with only 8.5 percent of households with a person in that bracket having a computer, according to the survey.
About 81 percent of home computers are used for educational purposes and 89 percent are used for leisure, according to the survey. Meanwhile, about 47 percent of home computers are used for work, although this rises to 54.4 percent where the user is aged between 25 and 34.
Although the number of home computer Internet connections has risen, other types of Internet connections are less common, according to the survey.
The findings show that 15,800 households have Internet access through their television, 26,300 through WAP phones and 5,000 through games consoles.
This survey is the largest to date to include information about home ownership of computers, according to Joe Treacy, a CSO senior statistician.
"The findings bear out the reality of the increase in Internet usage," said Treacy. "The findings show the growth of computer usage among particular age groups. This is very strong in the 25-34 age group, which shows that traditional family units are buying computers."
In addition, the number of households with a computer in the Dublin and Mid-East region is in keeping with the work and age profile of people living in those areas, said Treacy.
The findings of the survey compare with about 34 percent of households having a computer in the UK in 1998-99, according to Treacy.
The CSO is at www.cso.ie
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