Each year we publish our Annual Report & Review, which takes an in-depth look at our company, our activities and our industry.
2024: .IE is supporting Ireland to grow online and thrive online
.IE remains focused on making a positive contribution to the safety, security and resilience of the national internet infrastructure, fulfilling our responsibilities as a designated Operator of Essential Services (OES), as we prepare for more stringent NIS2 regulations. Our teams continue to protect the national DNS infrastructure against ongoing and new external cybersecurity threats, in particular, in the face of the continuing global increase in ransomware, malware and DDoS attacks. Protection of our mission-critical systems and tackling DNS Abuse is our never-ending focus.
In our core business, new .ie domain registrations were 45,941 in 2024, which was down 5.2% compared to 2023. On a positive note, the net growth in the .ie database was up 16% over the period since 1st January 2020. Market share of hosted domains of 54.2% for .ie improved again in 2024 vs .com’s share at 29.4%. Our ccTLD domains of ‘000 per capita remains better than Italy, France and Spain. We are confident that there is headroom for future domain growth, as Ireland continues on its digital development journey during this EU Digital Decade.
Registration revenue in 2024 increased by 2.5% to €4.3 million (2023: €4.21 million). The financial position of the Company is solid. Members’ Funds were boosted by investment returns, increasing by 7.2% to €5.7 million by the end of December 2024.
As we face into a new era – the end of self-regulation in the digital infrastructure sector – our multi-stakeholder Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) will continue its important work in 2025, focused on building national Awareness of the new NIS2 regulations, Alignment with the transposed legislation and Advocacy for stakeholder protections.
We take pride in our ongoing compliance with Ibec’s KeepWell MarkTM, an evidence-based workplace wellbeing accreditation, which is recognised as the business standard for health, safety and wellbeing in Ireland. It’s a strategic priority to create in .IE a people-centric culture for sustainable success in an era of innovation.
Louise English, Chair of the Board
“In 2024, we continued to use our financial resources to invest in developing new services and new sources of revenue to ensure that we have the long-term capability to fulfil our Purpose and Vision. The Company’s financial position remains strong and in line with our strategic objectives. In the context of the prevailing international environment, we’re including a Risk Report within our Annual Report, for the first time. .IE’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.
Ensuring that the .ie namespace infrastructure is safe and secure for our internet users and for Irish business is a critical priority for the Board of Directors. While we welcome the EU regulatory focus on cybersecurity and its objective to harmonise standards across the EU, we are acutely aware of the potential for short-term disruption and the challenges and implications of a higher cost base for our Registrar channel, and for SMEs. The Board is also aware of the intense competition for talent in the digital economy. Directors will resource and enable our dedicated team at the Registry, so it can continue offering trustworthy, dependable and efficient infrastructure and services, empowering the citizens and businesses of Ireland to thrive online.”
David Curtin, Chief Executive
“In 2024, we continued on our mission to make .ie the first choice internet domain address by providing a resilient and secure .ie namespace. Also, by being a trusted advocate for national digital development and for closing the digital divide. We accelerated the development of our expertise in data analytics and data visualisation, and produced innovative cybersecurity risk-based tools and informative DNS data insights.
Critical national infrastructure continues to be a target of international cyber criminals and state actors. EU regulatory authorities have intensified their response, seeking to harmonise cyber defence of critical infrastructure across Europe, including the domain registration sector. It is clear that .IE will need to allocate increased resources and attention to manage the disruption and cost impact of a rapidly expanding regulatory regime, particularly with NIS2, CER and eID.
Administrative expenses in 2024 decreased by €53k (1.1%) from €4.84m to €4.79m in 2024, in line with the company’s operational plans. Reduced operating losses of €471k for the year 2024 compared to a loss last year of €629k. The result for 2024 is predominantly explained by regulatory, compliance and policy development costs along with setup costs associated with implementing the company’s new strategic initiatives. These are within the parameters of our corporate reserves management policy, and all of our programmes meet the company’s enterprise risk criteria.
We look forward to working with our industry colleagues and partners as we face the future with optimism for digital development, but cognisant of the ongoing challenges facing the sector and the economy. Stronger together, we will continue to be a positive driving force in Ireland’s digital economy, enabling Ireland’s online community to thrive and prosper.”
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