.ie Registry Reports Growth

IEDR, the company that currently runs the .ie ccTLD, has announced an increase in  .ie registration figures.

According to a press release the registry is reporting that March 2010 saw a 2.2% increase in registrations, bringing the total number of .ie domains to over 141 thousand.

IEDR’s CEO, David Curtin, made the following comment about the growth:

It’s very encouraging indeed to have ended the first quarter with renewed growth in .ie domain registrations and a very solid performance in March, with registrations up 2.2% in March year on year and up 15.4% on the previous month. The decline in registration volumes at the beginning of the year was not unexpected given the tough and testing economic conditions Irish businesses are and continue to operate under, particularly SMEs. The increase in registrations towards the end of the first quarter and into quarter 2 points to strong, stable demand for the .ie namespace, which remains world class by international safety and security standards. The .ie namespace provides an established, trusted domain name through which start-ups and entrepreneurs can bring their goods and services to market and win consumer confidence. The IEDR is committed to maintaining the integrity, affordability and resilience of this vital platform for Irish e-commerce.

Considering that no comprehensive studies of consumer attitudes to .ie have ever been conducted on what basis does the IEDR make these claims?

If anything growth in .ie registrations is in spite of the registry, not because of them.

How the registry can make any claims about “affordability” when they are not the primary sales channel is laughable.

If the registry really wanted to boost registrations they could do a lot to cleanup their rules and processes so that Irish (and international) businesses would see .ie as a viable option. As things currently stand it can still take several days (if not longer) for a .ie registration to be fully processed due to the inconsistencies in their rules.