Piracy rate in Ireland not improved in two years!

Honest guv... some bloke gave me this shiney disk thingy in da pub the other night and said it was all registered and all, give it a "whirl"... Despite experiencing the highest drop in software piracy in Europe from 1994 to 2000, Ireland's piracy rate has not improved in the last 2 years.

The software piracy rate in Ireland remains static at 42%. A piracy rate of 42% means that almost one in every two business software programs installed in Ireland is an illegal copy.

Commenting on the findings Julian McMenamin, Chairman of BSA Ireland said, "The lack of improvement on Ireland's piracy rate can be attributed to the proliferation of Internet piracy (as it provides an alternative distribution channel for pirated software) and a certain amount of apathy. But whatever the excuse, a piracy rate of 42% is appalling. Although the current business environment is difficult, companies must appreciate the value of software and ensure sound software asset management procedures are put in place. It is obvious that bolder measures will have to be taken to combat the continuing problem of piracy in Ireland."

As a comparison to the rest of Europe, at 42% Ireland shares the same piracy rate as Portugal and our closest neighbors, the UK, has a piracy rate of 26%. Denmark enjoys the lowest piracy rate in Europe at 24%.

News source: UTVLive