The rate of software piracy in the Republic is 65 per cent compared to 39 per cent in Europe, according to the latest survey from the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

The BSA has set up a European hotline for reporting incidents of piracy. Last year the hotline received 62,303 calls, an increase of 25 per cent on the year before.

The calls provided 6,892 leads, said the BSA, and as a result it took 4,671 legal actions against pirates, up 21 per cent on the year before.

Meanwhile, BSA Ireland has appointed Mr Austin McCabe as its chairman. Mr McCabe has worked for several US companies including Keytronic and Accuray. He is currently managing director of Symantec.