IE-Annual-Report-2023

Growth and development of .ie In 2023, efforts to help channel partners by creating demand for .ie domains via effective content marketing proved difficult, in the context of the sector’s post-pandemic hangover. Database growth There were 328,248 .ie domains in the database at the end of 2023, a 0.3% decrease on 2022, reflecting registrations and renewals which were virtually unchanged compared to 2022. While this is the second year that we have seen flat growth since the end of the pandemic, the multi-year trend remains positive. By end-2023, the growth in the database was up by 6% over the three-year period since pre-pandemic 2019, and up by 25% over the five year period (Chart 3). Chart 3: Total .ie database 2023 328,248 2022 329,266 2021 330,108 2020 309,853 2019 280,958 2018 262,140 Chart 4: Registration and Renewal Fees €10 €20 €30 €40 €50 €60 24 23 13 11 09 08 Year 07 06 05 04 01 Registration fee Renewal fee .ie domain activation and usage 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 2023 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. Across the 32 counties, new .ie domain registrations in 2023 demonstrated a positive forward indicator of increased regional economic activity. Strong performers included Donegal, Waterford and Kildare who recorded increases of 35%, 17% and 13% respectively v 2022 – illustrated on page 24. Having adopted 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 local macroeconomic factors increases this challenge for SMEs as they represent additional downward pressures on profits and sales growth prospects. Micro-SMEs digital divide – masked by EU DESI metrics DESI metrics for Ireland can flatter to deceive, because micro-SMEs with less than 10 employees are excluded from the datasets. .IE takes every opportunity to advocate for digital development. Micro-SMEs need assistance from government agencies to improve their digital skills. They also need financial supports to develop their websites and online sales potential. During this EU Digital Decade, Ireland has a unique opportunity to secure EU funding for this purpose. +25% v Jan 2019 Business Review IE Domain Registry CLG t/a .IE / Annual Report & Review 2023 22