The Taoiseach has rejected as "a load of rubbish" the report of the International Telecommunication Union, which showed that Ireland was 51st out of 73 countries for broadband roll-out and Internet access.
Mr Ahern told Sinn Féin's leader in the Dáil, Mr Caoimhghin Ó Caolain, that Ireland was in fourth place, "behind Holland, Denmark and Sweden in the latest report on the Eurobarometer in terms of Internet penetration".
The Taoiseach said he was aware of the International Telecommunication Union "and wish it well with the development of broadband but its figures in relation to Ireland are totally out of date. Quite frankly, the figures given are a load of rubbish."
Mr Ahern also called for private sector companies to "engage in this area in a real way".
The Taoiseach added that the Government would "like to have far greater broadband penetration. We are not in a strong position and I do not believe we will be until we can get private sector involvement."
Many commercial and public sector companies in Europe were stung in relation to 3G licences. "They are up to their necks in debt and have not taken up broadband to the extent they should," the Taoiseach added.
He said that Ireland had a "world-class competitive broadband infrastructure in terms of international connectivity and the national backbone. Our system is state-of-the-art in that respect." There were local-level network deficiencies, which was why the State was financing "the building of metropolitan fibre loops in 19 towns around the country".
Mr Ó Caolain said the figures were based on 2002 statistics, and not information long out of date. He added that the report "places Ireland lower in the league than developing nations such as Peru and Croatia", and this was shown by eBay's decision to locate in Dublin and not a rural location like Athlone.
The Taoiseach replied that the Eurobarometer report dealt with statistics on a monthly basis and Ireland was fourth on that list.
