Major government technology projects should be fast-tracked in the same way priority is given to physical infrastructure projects under the National Development Plan, according to IBM.

Paul Farrell, country managing partner for IBM's global business services division, was speaking in response to an IBM-sponsored report by the Economist Intelligence Unit on global "e-readiness".

The Economist defines e-readiness as the "state of play" of a country's information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and the ability of its citizens, businesses and governments to use that technology to their benefit.

The annual report found that Ireland has fallen from 16th to 21st in the rankings and rates poorly for connectivity and technology infrastructure.

Susanne Dirks, who heads up IBM's Institute for Business Value in Ireland, said strong growth in Asian economies such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong contributed to Ireland's slide.

Although Ireland was lagging on broadband penetration, availability of Wi-Fi hotspots and electronic identities for citizens, she said the State scored well on consumer and business adoption of technology, as well as the legal and business environment.

Mr Farrell said Ireland was also being affected by "concerns around governance" of large government projects - a thinly-veiled reference to the PPARS fiasco.

"Our recommendation would be that the Government accelerate projects, particularly those that are citizen-centric," Mr Farrell added. "Motor tax online was a great project but since then we have dropped the ball - the momentum hasn't been continued."

Mr Farrell acknowledged that the Government had been good at fostering an environment that encourages private sector technology investment, but it needed to start investing itself. He suggested Ireland follow the example of Britain and set specific targets for e-government.