Online shopping. Image: Arphaporn/Shutterstock
Around 154 new dot-IE domain names were registered every day between January and the end of June 2018.
The number of dot-IE domain registrations increased by more than 39pc year on year, according to the latest half-year (H1) figures from the IE Domain Registry (IEDR).
This brought the total dot-IE domain database to 252,222.
‘For new business start-ups and small-scale enterprises, liberalisation has removed an administrative obstacle to dot-IE domain registration’
– DAVID CURTIN
The majority (62.5pc) of new dot-IE domains were registered by businesses, including corporate bodies and sole traders.
Liberalisation policy
IEDR CEO David Curtin believes the increase in dot-IE domain registrations in H1 is indicative of Ireland’s broader economic growth.
Curtin said that the IEDR’s new liberalisation policy implemented in March has made it easier and faster to register a dot-IE domain.
He said the change is timely as businesses are moving away from generic, anonymous email addresses, such as Eircom.net or Gmail.com.
“Liberalisation has resulted in a streamlined registration process,” Curtin said.
“While applicants are still required to prove their connection to Ireland, they can now register their preferred name on a first-come, first-served basis. For new business start-ups and small-scale enterprises, liberalisation has removed an administrative obstacle to dot-IE domain registration.”
Leinster, including Dublin, registered 17,544 new dot-IE domains, or 67pc of all new registrations on the island of Ireland, in H1 2018. This is a 39pc increase year on year. Munster followed with 19pc of registrations (up 28pc year on year), Connacht recorded 9pc (up 39pc) and Ulster 5pc (up 34pc).
Every county on the island of Ireland, bar Fermanagh, recorded an increase in new dot-IE registrations in H1 2018.
Dublin registered 11,134 new dot-IE domains in this period, accounting for 42.5pc of all new registrations in Ireland. Cork registered the second-highest number of new dot-IE domains, with 2,221 (8.5pc of all new registrations), followed by Galway with 1,330 (5pc) and Kildare at 1,258 (5pc).
Leitrim, registering 179 dot-IE domains in H1 2018, recorded the highest year-on-year registration growth in the country (up by 113pc).
