David Curtin
CEO, .ie
When the .ie domain registry was established 25 years ago, Ireland’s internet landscape was very different. David Curtin, CEO, considers how the online world has changed.
What’s been the biggest challenge in developing Ireland’s internet ecosystem over the last 25 years?
As one of the many guardians, guides and stewards that have helped the internet in Ireland grow and develop, we would say the biggest challenge was the poor availability of broadband and the lack of commitment to helping with internet adoption — and all things internet-related — in the early days.
It took mobile internet to come to the rescue and make internet access more available, affordable and usable for small businesses up and down the country. I don’t think history will be kind to the incumbent monopoly at that time. Thankfully, broadband is improving dramatically with the Government’s National Broadband Rollout Plan, which helps to close the urban-rural divide and fill in the black spots around the country.
Which initiatives have you undertaken to educate and support businesses and communities?
We’ve run programmes for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that want to get online. One I’m particularly proud of was an annual competition called Optimise, where winners received 10 days of face-to-face time with a consultant to improve their online presence and grow their e-commerce sales. Over the last 5 years, around 60 business owners benefitted from that.
More recently, we’ve been running a programme, Digital Town, where we work with the Government to implement its rural digital strategy and empower local communities, governments and businesses to make better use of digital technology and meet their town’s goals.
For any business, their website
is their piece of real estate online
— something they own and control.
Why do you think Irish consumers trust .ie domains?
We know that 79% of Irish consumers prefer a .ie website when buying online. First and foremost, that’s because people who register domain names with us have to confirm their identity, which is a level of security that consumers appreciate. Secondly, we employ a monitoring agent to scan existing .ie websites and, if it discovers malware on them, it informs the hosting provider and owner of the domain name.
SMEs can be innocent victims of malware, so this acts as a protective shield for them. Lastly, we have a cost-effective way of dispute resolution that’s very suitable for small businesses.
How do you see competition from other domains evolving in the future?
It will intensify. In top-level domain terms, .com is still the dominating force with 140 million .coms around the world. Nevertheless, in terms of market share, we come out very well. In 2024, our market share of hosted domains in Ireland was 54.2%, compared to 29% for .com.
How has the internet landscape in Ireland changed, and where is it heading?
In terms of how people communicate and engage with each other, there’s no doubt that social media has become more prominent and useful than websites. However, where websites come into their own is by allowing businesses to tell their own story and get their message across in a world where fake news is spreading.
For any business, their website is their piece of real estate online — something they own and control. What do I see changing? Many indicators are looking poor, particularly with social media giants saying that they are no longer going to fact-check. That’s not a good trend.
Are there any developments or events that businesses and consumers should be aware of?
Our efforts to improve cybersecurity will continue with messages about security hygiene and being careful about the type of links you click. Although controls are improving; education among consumers must increase; we need greater adoption of the tools available to help businesses deal with ransomware and email compromises.
Critical internet infrastructure providers will be asking users to take what might first appear to be unnecessary steps but are actually vital for their security. To thwart the activities of cyber criminals, there needs to be more cooperation between internet guardians, guides and stewards. The bad guys have organised. Now, the good guys must do the same.
