It went to the wire but the Dail this week agreed the E-commerce Bill, clearing the way for it to be signed into law with an electronic signature from the President, Mrs McAleese, to which its provisions grant legal recognition.

While the Bill is not the all-encompassing legislation some imagine it to be and will not, in itself, regulate the realm of e-commerce, it does give legal recognition to a range of issues seen as critical to the success of Internet-related business. These include electronic signatures and electronic reports and documents, which will now for the first time, carry equal weight in law with their more traditional forms. It also permits the use of encryption by businesses and private individuals, a measure considered vital to help persuade the public that the electronic network is secure.

In doing so, it is seen as being ahead of the US and, more importantly, Britain where the government is still trying to ensure it has access to encrypted documents on the grounds of state security. The respective legislation is likely to ensure that Ireland retains a leading role as a good place for technology and Internet-related companies to do business.

Much remains to be done; at least a start has been made.