The digital economy is one sure route out of recession for SMEs. But how do the political parties in the run up to General Election 2011 aim to create the digital jobs?
There are certain people who don’t understand what the fuss is about broadband infrastructure and why it is vital Irish firms and ordinary people embrace e-commerce and acquire digital literacy skills.
My answer is this: if you don’t have broadband or an internet connection of some description today you will be unable to apply for a job. If you are a business and don’t transact via e-commerce it will make it more difficult for customers to find or buy from you.
For these reasons, the next Government should do something brave like follow in Finland’s steps and declare broadband a human right for all citizens. According to the IE Domain Registry, only 66pc of Irish firms are online and only 21pc of these have the ability to handle e-commerce transactions. This has grown a marginal 3pc since 2000.
With more than 400,000 people unemployed, the digital economy and broadband access provides the means for people to help themselves.
Read more of ‘The digital jobs plans‘ at Digital 21.
For the past two years, Silicon Republic has run a campaign to highlight the imperative of creating the digital infrastructure and services upon which the success of our economy depends.
The website for Digital 21 provides a forum for all those interested in accelerating the development of Ireland’s Digital Economy.
