Skibbereen has laid claim to the title of Ireland’s first 1GB town with those behind the digital Ludgate Hub declaring that the venture is a blueprint for the regeneration of rural Ireland.

Ireland’s first rural digital hub in Skibbereen, Co Cork, is looking for innovative startups to express an interest in a €300,000 seed capital fund.

A leading digital expert has plans to develop the south-west into a digital hub that could help transform business in the area and attract considerable investment, having done likewise in one of Australia’s biggest cities.

The country’s chief digital expert has admitted that Government departments and bodies need to earn public trust, so that people can engage with public services online with the same ease as in the commercial world.