Number of .ie website names tops 200,000 mark

The number of .ie domain website names has topped 200,000 for the first time.

According to a report by IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the company responsible for the management and administration of Ireland’s official internet address, there were almost 17,000 new .ie domain names registered in the six months between the last quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of last year — a net increase of 6,207 (6.4%).

The .ie domain registry has grown 26.5% in the last four years, with net new additions increasing by 67% in the last quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.

Of the 6,207 additions to the .ie domain registry, a total of 3,794 were registered by Irish businesses. Of this, 2,756 were registered by corporate entities and 1,038 by sole traders.

Leinster accounts for 69% of all .ie domain names registered in Ireland. Munster, Connacht, and Ulster follow at 18%, 8%, and 5% respectively.

Commenting on the figures, chief executive of IEDR David Curtin said reaching 200,000 .ie domain names was a “significant milestone” for the country.

“The number marks the extent to which all aspects of Irish life — individuals, communities and businesses — have migrated online. Behind the 200,000 .ie domain names are thousands of Irish-based websites, encompassing all areas of life in Ireland today,” he said.

He said the .ie domain can be a critical marketing and branding tool for companies to promote themselves as uniquely Irish and called on the Government to encourage more businesses to get an Irish domain name.

A Limerick-based action adventure camp, www.BasecampAdventurePark.ie, has been identified as the 200,000th registered .ie domain name.