The Republic ranks lowest in European Union for accessing local authority and government information online. A European Commission green paper has found that only one in three Irish people are interested in using home computers to source public sector information. Just 5 per cent of Irish people said they would be willing to pay for such information, ranking Ireland last among its counterparts among 16 other European countries.

The seminar, organised by Midas-Net Ireland as part of the European Commission's INFO 2000 programme, called on members of the public to submit their views on the document directly to the European Commission.