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Minister Rabbitte with UPC CEO Magnus Ternsjö and Gerard O’Neill, Chairman of Amárach Research who carried out the research for UPC

Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte today launched the second UPC report on Ireland’s Digital Future with UPC CEO Magnus Ternsjö and Gerard O’Neill, Chairman of Amárach Research who carried out the research for UPC.

The report predicts that up to 150,000 new jobs could be created through the Irish Internet economy by 2020 as a result of continuing uptake of broadband services and the overall digitisation of society, industry and commerce in Ireland.

The value of Ireland's Internet economy is forecast to grow from its current level of €8.4 billion a year to an estimated €21.1 Bn (10% of GDP) by 2020 with consumer spending contributing 60% or close to €13 Bn of this figure.

Minister Rabbitte said:

I welcome this Report which makes an excellent contribution to our understanding of Ireland’s digital economy and the impact and benefits which the Internet is creating for our society. The findings from the UPC Report are clear. If we can capture the opportunity presented by digitisation, then this will contribute strongly to jobs and economic growth. The Government is fundamentally committed to the expansion of high speed Internet accessibility for our population and this is the agenda we are pursuing through the National Digital Strategy and National Broadband Plan.