The Copyright Reform Bill, published last Friday, will help eradicate software piracy in the Republic, the Business Software Alliance has said.

BSA said the bill was a "ground breaking move" and would "re-inforce Ireland's position not only as a technology leader in Europe, but as a protector of that industry".

However, the BSA chairman, Mr Austin McCabe, said the Irish computer industry had to "clean up its act and change it attitude in terms of software piracy".

"The level of piracy at 65 per cent is appalling in Ireland, given our status as the largest software exporter in Europe and our reliance on the software industry," he said.