Registry firm for .ie to be regulated
Friday November 21 2003
The regulation is provided for under the Miscellaneous Provisions Bill and the decision was taken by Communications Minister Dermot Ahern.
It is believed that the decision was taken because the .ie name is a national resource and subsequently should be monitored.
Up until now, the IEDR, which recently restated its accounts following a review of its finances, has not been regulated.
Earlier this year IEDR chief executive Mike Fagan was suspended.
He later resigned after reaching a settlement with the registry.
The recently filed 2002 accounts show that the firm racked up losses of €1.2m, despite registering a 25pc increase in its business.
The accounts show that the financial review led the a number of once-off exceptional items.
These included €710,378 written-off in respect of charges to the firm's accounting policy. There was a further €371,369 loss due to write-offs and bad debt provisions.
When the accounts were filed at the beginning of the month, IEDR chairman Seán Scanlan said in a statement that since the end of 2002 there had been a strong turnaround.
The registry reported a profit of €160,000 for the first six months of the year. "The outlook for the rest of 2003 and beyond is very positive, with registered domains growing at 25pc a year," said Mr Scanlan.
- Ailish O'Hora
