Despite the controversy over the planned introduction of electronic voting in the Republic, two in five people would like to vote in elections by sending a text message, a new survey shows.
Almost half the population would also like to use their mobiles to access a range of other public services, according to the survey of public attitudes toward text messaging undertaken by the Irish consultancy Amárach.
Young people between the ages of 25 and 34 are the most interested in using their mobiles to vote while older people would be far less inclined to do so. Just 9 per cent of 65 to 74-year-olds said they would consider text voting, while 55 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds are interested in using mobile phone technology.
Several European countries, including Britain, have already conducted trials of text voting for local elections but there are currently no plans to extend these types of trials to Ireland.
The survey also highlights that 48 per cent of people are interested in services that would enable them to get text message reminders about appointments.
The type of reminder text messages offered as examples to the survey sample were: NCT tests; CAO results; driving tests; and hospital appointments.
A similar percentage of people (48 per cent) are interested in requesting information by sending a text to Government agencies. Once again, younger people are more interested in using these services.
Almost half the people surveyed said they agreed that using text messaging to access public services would be easier than sending an email or visiting a website. Just 34 per cent said they disagreed with this statement, according to the survey.
Currently, about four in 10 households has an internet-connected PC in the home while almost 90 per cent of the population owns a mobile phone.
The survey was commissioned by the Irish mobile messaging and data company, Púca, which hopes to benefit from the Government's adoption of messaging services to contact its customers.
Mr Eamon Hession, managing director of Púca, said the Government should think more about using mobile messaging to contact citizens as part of its eGovernment strategy to boost access to services.
"Only 42 per cent of the population has access to an Internet computer whereas nearly double that amount (over 80 per cent) has a mobile phone," he said. "If the aims and ideals of eGovernment are to make government and public services more accessible to citizens, it stands to reason that more attention should be given to 'mGovernment' initiatives."
Mr Hession said one of the most interesting aspects of the report was the high degree of interest among young people about voting using text messaging.
"In spite of the controversy over electronic voting, many people still regard electronic mediums, and particularly text messaging, as a valid medium for expressing their views and opinions... Text voting may also have potential to involve younger people in the political process."
Amárach conducted the survey using a sample of 853 people between the ages of 15 and 74. The sample was split evenly between male and females, social class and geographical location across the State.
The survey was conducted in October among mobile phone users in the Republic.
