13% rise in ‘.ie’ online addresses

LAST year saw a 13% increase in total registrations for ‘.ie’ online addresses, according to the IE Domain Registry (IEDR).

In total, 153,419 ‘.ie’ domains — taking in new registrations and renewals — were registered in 2010; although the number of new sign-ups fell from 37,055 in 2009 to 36,587.

IEDR — the body charged with managing registration for Irish internet addresses — saw its operating profits rise by 50% to €582,639.

The past year also saw the 150,000th ‘.ie’ registration milestone passed.

The Irish domain increased its market share here by 1.6% to 41.5%, compared to the likes of ‘.com’ and ‘.eu’ domains.

The IEDR’s income from registration fees increased by 9.7%, to €2.56 million. Chief executive, David Curtin, hailed it a strong performance in “an extremely difficult year”.

However, a combination of factors, including the IEDR dropping its registration fees for six months, mean the performance for 2011 may not be quite as strong as last year.

Last year also saw the ‘.ie’ domain climbing to second (behind Japan) in a survey on the safest international domains, having been in the top five for a number of years.