IE Domain Registry Annual Report 2019

IE Domain Registry  Annual Report & Review  2019 4 Chair’s Statement Chair’s Statement As incoming Chair of the Board, it is a pleasure to review a year in which IE Domain Registry has continued to grow and develop the .ie domain as the preferred online address for Irish people and businesses. The .ie registry has maintained its excellent track record for the safety, reliability and resilience of its services. Keeping the .ie namespace safe and secure for our internet users and for Irish business remains a critical priority for the Board. As a company limited by guarantee, IE Domain Registry’s financial reserves are its only source of capital and it is therefore critically important that we maintain a capital base fully adequate to meet current and prospective business requirements. In recording an after-tax surplus of €231k we improved our financial strength in 2019. Net liquid funds totalled €3.15m at year end. The company’s financial position remains strong and in line with our financial objectives. We assure our stakeholders of our continued commitment to this objective into the future. 2019 was a buoyant economic environment, and it was another successful year for IE Domain Registry. Growth in the number of .ie domains continued and we maintained our focus on excellence in customer service. The proportion of .ie domains with active websites or email continues to increase. In an extremely competitive environment we improved our market share compared to .com, to over 50% of Ireland’s hosted market. Our database at end 2019 was 280,958 .ie domains, a net increase of 18,016 over the year. Although our European colleagues are experiencing stagnating growth, our annual research indicates that there remains significant scope for Ireland’s SMEs to improve and expand on their online activities. Our research highlights the benefits of a strong online presence for business and the growing importance Irish consumers attach to online communication. We will continue to assist SME representative organisations, and government policymakers, to adopt appropriate policies to facilitate future growth. On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to acknowledge the contribution of our accredited Registrars, who are our essential partners in promoting and marketing .ie and thank them for their cooperation and assistance. I also acknowledge the continued dedication and diligence of our Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) which was established in 2015 to advise the Board on policy matters. Representative of a broad range of stakeholders, the PAC continued in 2019 to play an important role in assisting us to develop our policies in line with the changing internet environment, while also assisting the Board in balancing the rights, responsibilities and obligations of all parties. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the members for their contribution to the ongoing policy development process at the registry.