The Ireland Offline map displays the uneven availability of broadband over Irish phone lines (DSL broadband), with much of rural Ireland left deprived of the service that has been termed the 21st-century equivalent of 1950s rural electrification.

Ireland Offline was set up in 2000 to campaign for proper internet and broadband access, a competent regulator and healthy competition in the area. The group has been a persistent critic of the government's failure to meet its commitment to provide broadband across the state.

"This map gives a geographical view of DSL availability in the Republic of Ireland. Each exchange that has broadband equipment is depicted with a circle around it, " said Damien Mulley, chairman of Ireland Offline.

"There are approximately 1,100 exchanges in the country and Eircom have enabled around 400 of them so far. These enabled exchanges are mostly around the major population centres, but they should enable the exchanges that are in more rural locations.

"Compare this to Northern Ireland, where every exchange has been enabled and, as a result, there are 207,000 broadband connections in the six counties, compared to 270,000 in the Republic."

Mulley believes Ireland's poor record in the provision of broadband availability has left the country lagging behind in development of its knowledge economy.

But in response to criticism of its record on broadband access, the government has poured cold water on claims made by Ireland Offline. A spokesman for the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey, said: "The minister has repeatedly expressed his concern about the availability of broadband in Ireland, particularly outside the major centres of population. For this reason, the department operates a number of different programmes designed to provide broadband access to towns and people."

The spokesman added: "Broadband is a top priority for the minister because it is an essential building-block for the knowledge economy. While the minister is not satisfied with the current situation, significant progress has been made over the past two years."

David McRedmond, commercial director of Eircom, also criticised Ireland Offline's map. He said: "I think that it is grossly misleading as we are making broadband available as much as it is anywhere in Europe, and this is a fantastic achievement."

John Doherty of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) added:

"It is important to realise that the 400 enabled exchanges on this map represent about 75% of the population. Eircom has a very large number of small exchanges. Eircom has been enabling these exchanges, but the issue is more about supply and population.

Each exchange is not the same, as exchanges in areas of low population density cannot be looked upon in the same way as exchanges in areas of higher population density."