.IE Annual Report 2022

+17% v 2019 During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, over 127,300 new ie domains were registered. These new registrations reflected the impact of Covid-19, which acted as a digital accelerant for businesses who migrated online, many for the first time, in direct response to the lockdowns. In 2022, this mass country-wide digital mobilisation tapered off. A previous growth surge in 2018, due to the removal of the claim to the name requirement, was followed by a similar cooling off period afterwards. There were 329,266 .ie domains in the database at the end of 2022, a 0.3% decrease on 2021. Coupled with the reduction in registrations, the rate of domain renewals also dropped resulting in overall flat growth for 2022. While this is the first year that we have seen flat growth, the multi-year trend remains positive. The database grew by 17.2% on pre-pandemic 2019 and by 26% on 2018 (five years ago). Chart 3: Total .ie database 2022 329,266 2021 330,108 2020 309,853 2019 280,958 2018 262,140 New registrations In 2022 there was a sizeable drop in new .ie registrations year-on-year (-22.6% v 2021). This predicted decrease comes as we exited the acute stage of Covid with registrations moving back to pre-pandemic levels. Comparing 2022 against 2019, there is a much less significant decrease of 4% and demonstrates that SMEs continue to use websites as a core part of their business with the benefits far outweighing a social media ‘shop front’. Interestingly, a large proportion of new registrations in 2022 came from existing .ie customers who were able to avail of our express registration process, as returning customers do not need to be re-validated. Regionally, new .ie domain registrations in 2022 demonstrated a positive forward indicator of increased regional economic activity. Strong performers included Tipperary, Mayo and Wexford who recorded increases of 27%, 24% and 18% respectively v 2019. The pandemic forced SMEs to rethink the way they do business with many adopting omni-channel business models to include physical and digital strategies. The challenge now is to retain the productivity gains and other benefits from digitalisation, post Covid. The wider context of geopolitical turmoil and macroeconomic factors increases this challenge, as it represents additional downward pressures on growth prospects. Reputational strength The .ie domain now accounts for 53.6% of all top level domains hosted in Ireland, up 1 percentage point year-on-year, followed by .com (30%) and .uk (7.4%). It continues to be the domain-of-choice for Irish business, communities and citizens. The trustworthiness of a .ie domain is also internationally recognised by The SpamHaus Project, an international non-profit organisation that tracks spam and related cyber threats. A .ie website is a great way for Irish businesses to demonstrate their trustworthiness to customers. Development of the .ie namespace Following the record-breaking highs in new domain registrations during Covid-19, .ie registrations moved back to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, resulting in flat growth year-on-year. Business and Market Review 100% <0% % difference in new .ie registrations 2022 v 2019 Mayo Mayocontinues itsstrong performanceandhad the largestpercentage growth (+24.1%) innew .iedomain registrations foranycounty in the Westof Ireland,2022 v2019. Wexford Wexfordcameoutontop inLeinsterwithan18.2% increase innew .iedomain registrations2022v2019. Monaghan Amongsttheborder counties,Monaghanhad the largestpercentage growth (+8.4%) innew .iedomains registrations 2022v2019. Galway With8.4%growth innew .ie registrations,2022v 2019,Galway followed Mayo’sstronggrowth in theWestof Ireland. Tipperary With26.5%growth innew .iedomain registrations, 2022vpre-pandemic 2019,Tipperarycame insecondoverall. Tyrone Tyrone recorded the largestpercentagegrowth (+73.4%) innew .iedomain registrationscompared to pre-pandemic2019,albeit froma lowbase. <0% 0 -5% 5-10% 10 -20% 20 -50% Over50% Chart 4: Analysis of .ie domains by county .IE is the trading name of IE Domain Registry CLG / Annual Report & Review 2022 22