Minister Rabbitte launches first phase of Ireland’s National Digital Strategy
New voucher scheme will help small firms do more on-line
Thursday 11th July 2013
The Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte, T.D. today launched the Government’s National Digital Strategy “Doing More with Digital” at an event in Trinity College Dublin.
Digital is shaping Ireland’s future at a faster and faster rate. The National Digital Strategy is an important first step in broadening our focus from solely looking at connectivity to creating a vision and building momentum on digital adoption. This can only be done by bringing together different public and private sector activities in the digital domain. The launch of this strategy marks the beginning of a ‘whole of government’ approach to digital – which is a pervasive economic and social force.
The Minister explained that the Strategy focusses on the role of both Government and society at large in fostering digital engagement and highlights the social and economic benefits that can accrue. “Governments tend to focus on the engineering side of the internet - building out the hardware. We need to focus more on demand – why are 20% of the population not on-line? Why are so many small businesses not set up for ecommerce? ”
The initial phase of the National Digital Strategy is focussed on:
1. stimulating the indigenous economy by helping small Irish business to expand on-line,
2. support in preparing the next generation for future jobs and,
3. making sure everyone in society benefits from digital.
Ireland is part of a digital world. We have been very successful in attracting many of the biggest names in the industry to set up here, and these companies, together with a vibrant indigenous digital industry, mean that Ireland is punching well above its weight in terms of shaping a global digital future. The key question is how we can ensure that every Irish citizen is benefiting from Digital.
New research commissioned as part of the National Digital Strategy (also being published today) shows that digital now accounts for 4.4% of GDP and supports 95,000 jobs. It means that in jobs terms digital has become as big an industry in Ireland as Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing and just shy of financial services in scale. The research also demonstrates that the relative importance of digital is growing at 16% per year; that is around 10 times the rate of growth of the rest of the economy.
Announcing a new initiative to encourage small firms to transact on-line Minister Rabbitte said, “Companies which trade online are proven to grow faster than those which don’t, and it is critical that the backbone of our economy, small traditional businesses, don’t get left behind. That is why this strategy will for the first time provide financing for smaller businesses to develop their online trading presence and begin to reap the benefits of the online market.”
“Ireland’s future will be more influenced than ever by digital. For the vast majority of jobs of all types digital skills will be a basic prerequisite. The skills required are readily achieved, but to ensure everyone has access to them we need to actively connect those without skill to those with skill.”
“The digital economy provides new challenges and demands for our workforce and it is for this reason that the NDS will be spearheading digital education programs both for our youngest citizens and our older non-liners.”
Contact Press Office, DCENR, +353 1 6782441 / 6782451 or Press.office@dcenr.gov.ie
Additional information on key initiatives in the National Digital Strategy:
Jobs: It is largely our indigenous small businesses, servicing the local domestic market, which are facing the greatest pressures at this time. Taxi drivers, hairdressers, restaurants and local shops are the backbone of our communities and provide essential local employment. Internet based trading is proven to help small business to grow. Yet many such businesses still have no significant online trading presence. It is for this reason that Government are launching the Trade On-Line Voucher Scheme as part of the NDS. The vouchers will put up to €2500 directly into the hands of 2000 small businesses to help them prioritise digital, get the resources, training and expertise needed to develop an online trading presence.
Education: Across Europe only 1 job in 10 will not need a digital skill by 2015. In much the same way that knowledge of how to use a telephone is of critical importance in the modern workplace, knowledge of how to perform a variety of tasks online will only grow in importance in the next decade. Cooperation across government has enabled 100Mbps broadband to be made available to every second level school in the country. This is the foundation for developing a range of interventions which will support schools and teachers learning from each other and sharing best practice, ultimately facilitating young people using digital technology and content to learn.
Inclusion: Experience has shown that with the right support and training, even the eldest among us have the ability to harness the potential of the internet and improve their quality of life. The NDS commits to halve the number of non-liners by 2016, thus bringing an additional 288,000 people into the digital community. Schemes such as BenefIT4 will provide €1.4m in funding for these types of training programs in 2013 alone, reaching 24,000 people in locations across Ireland.
More details of the National Digital Strategy, the full text and Indecon report as well as audio visual case studies can be accessed at www.dcenr.gov.ie/nds