Despite the "Celtic Tiger" image, the Republic remains a pussycat in terms of its adoption of technology, a Dublin conference was told this week.

Mr Jonathan Knight, a technology expert with consultancy group Accenture, described the State as a laggard because it came 25th out of 30 leading countries in terms of broadband lines per person.

Digital subscriber line (DSL), digital cable, fixed wireless and 3G mobile had all been delayed, he said. Small business was also unsure of the applications it required, he added.

Mr Knight said momentum in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could be increased by accelerating egovernment actions, increasing SME awareness, continuing local loop unbundling and encouraging the accelerated deployment of broadband technologies.

Also speaking at the "Access Denied" Chamber of Commerce conference, Mr Alan Durrant, principal consultant with Mason Communications, warned of a growing internal digital divide between Dublin and the rest of the State.

"Even cities such as Limerick and Cork are discovering that broadband access to the international carriers' points of presence in Dublin adds large costs above those of their counterparts in Dublin," he said.