NESC publishes digital Inclusion report on how to improve connectivity, devices, and skills in Ireland

The Irish National Economic & Social Council (NESC) published Report No.154, Digital Inclusion in Ireland: Connectivity, Devices and Skills which looks at the importance of providing everyone with safe access to digital tools and skills required for employment, training, and life. It accentuates that digital inclusion is quintessential for investment in broadband connectivity and e-government and outlines a number of recommendations to achieve this including:

• developing a national strategy for digital inclusion, to provide a shared direction and responsibility, coordinate existing work, and highlight and address gaps
• creating a comprehensive framework for digital skills progression, to draw the range of existing training into a common framework, and to develop a more structured pathway for training progression and certification of competences
• supporting digital inclusion at community level by coordinating and building upon the pilot schemes currently operating at local level, to promote ICT engagement among hard-to-reach groups
• delivering targeted supports for material access to key groups, including those in education and older people
• enhancing guidance for digital and assisted-digital public services, and provide non-digital access through a range of channels, including face-to-face, by written correspondence and by phone