.ie is the
country code top-level domain
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...
(ccTLD) which corresponds with the
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the I ...
(IANA) list the Computing Services Computer Centre of
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
as its sponsoring organisation for the .ie domain.
Since 2000 the business of administrating the domain registry has been handled by IE Domain Registry Limited. Domain name registration is open to individuals located in, or with a significant connection with, any part of the
island of Ireland.
History
.ie was registered on 27 January 1988 and a year later the registration of .ie domain names was delegated by
Jon Postel to the Computing Services Computer Centre of
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
, then headed by
Dennis Jennings. In 2000, the administration of the .ie domain was sub-delegated by UCD to a new company,
IE Domain Registry Limited.
The Computing Services Computer Centre of University College Dublin remains the
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the I ...
's sponsoring organisation for the .ie domain.
State regulation
In 2000, the Irish parliament enacted a law giving the Minister for Public Enterprise the power to make regulations regarding the registration of .ie domain names. In 2007 this power was transferred to the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).
Registration policy
The IEDR is considered more conservative than other similar authorities and places certain restrictions on registration. The .ie ccTLD is primarily a business orientated ccTLD for Irish businesses and businesses doing business in or with Ireland. It has allowed personal domain name (PDN) registrations though these would only account for approximately 1% of the number of .ie domain registrations. An individual is allowed to register their own name or a variant of it with a utilities bill or passport as proof of entitlement.
Registration policies have been liberalised somewhat in recent years and rules such as the one against registering generic domain names have been dropped. The .ie ccTLD is a managed ccTLD where applicants for .ie domain names have to provide proof of entitlement to the domain that they want to register. In August 2017 IEDR began a consultation on removing this restriction and allowing first-come first-served registration; the requirement of a connection to Ireland will remain.
Registration is restricted to entities with a connection to Ireland. Thus, American singer
Melanie was not allowed to register
Melan.ie
; whereas
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...
, which has a corporate presence in Ireland, was allowed to register
Modern.IE
, a
domain hack
A domain hack is a domain name
A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer netwo ...
whose full name reflects its purpose as support for IE (
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browser
A web browser is application software
Application may refer to:
Mathematics a ...
).
In February 2016 IEDR began a consultation on the introduction of
internationalized domain name
An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...
s, in particular the vowel + "fada" characters (á é í ó ú) used in
Irish orthography
Irish orthography is very etymological which allows the same written form to represent all dialect
The term dialect (from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-Eur ...
. Existing holders of Irish-language domain names lacking fadas will be able to apply for the accurate name.
Registering a domain
The typical registration fee via accredited .ie registrars is approximately €25 (plus VAT of €5.75).. Registration is free for charities registered with the
Revenue Commissioners. Evidence of entitlement to the domain name (such as evidence of entitlement to use a particular business name via a Registered Business Name certificate
or registered company name) and a connection with the island of Ireland are required for registration. The requirement to provide a 'claim to the name' was removed in March 2018, following public consultation.
Second-level domains
There is no official second-level domain policy. A number of domain names, typically those of other
TLDs, two letter domains and potentially offensive domains are forbidden from being registered. Nevertheless, the
Government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, ...
began using the
.gov.ie
domain where once it used
irlgov.ie
. Some government departments continue to use their own non
gov.ie
domains.
Prior to 16 December 2015, two character domains consisting of one letter and one number were permitted, but two-letter domain registrations were not permitted.
The only exceptions to the old two letter rule were
ul.ie
, which was registered by the
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accord ...
before the rule came into effect, and
ns.ie
, which is used for the .ie
name servers. The domains in the ''forbidden'' category will return a record for a
WHOIS
WHOIS (pronounced as the phrase "who is") is a query and response protocol that is widely used for querying database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stor ...
query but they are not in the .ie zone. In June 2015, the IEDR announced that two-letter names would soon be available; a 30-day registration began in November for a go-live date of 16 December 2015.
Where there were multiple applicants for a given combination, an auction was be held in early 2016.
Number of registered domains
On 31 March 2022, there were 330,000 registered .ie domain names.
This has surpassed the number of Irish-owned and or hosted .com domain names. It is the preferred extension for new Irish businesses. Approximately 140 new .ie domains are registered each working day.
See also
*
.irish, a
generic top-level domain
Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees globa ...
(gTLD) for the global Irish community.
*
.cymru
*
.scot
*
HEAnet
*
INEX
*
ITnet
References
External links
.IEAccredited IE RegistrarsIE Personal Domain Names
{{DEFAULTSORT:IE
Science and technology in the Republic of Ireland
Mass media in the Republic of Ireland
Country code top-level domains
Internet in Ireland
Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries members
sv:Toppdomän#I