THE GOVERNMENT HAS just launched the first phase of its National Digital Strategy, with its main aims to get more businesses and more people online over the next two years.

The report, commissioned by Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte, threw up some surprising statistics about Ireland and its relationship with the Internet.

• Each year, €3.7 billion is spent by Irish consumers online.
• An average person spends €1,400 a year (or €116 per month) online.
• Of that figure, 70 per cent leaks out of Ireland’s economy.
• 577,220 adults in Ireland have never used the Internet.
• 27 per cent of adults use the Internet less than once a week.
• Only 3 per cent of over-75s use the Internet.
• About one in every five households do not have an Internet connection set up.
• Six out of ten Irish adults shop online. All of them plan on increasing that expenditure.
• 81 per cent search the Internet for the best deals or information before purchasing.
• At least 30,000 small businesses in Ireland do not trade online.
• Research has shown that the value of digital to Ireland’s GDP last year was €7.1 billion.
• The digital sector grows 10 times as fast as the economy as a whole.
• In the UK, forecasts suggest one third of retail sales will be online in less than ten years.

Related: Government to give money to small businesses to get them online

Read: Judge: Apple conspired to raise prices on e-books

More: Here’s what electromagnetic force field from a laptop looks like