David Stanton
Ceist:134 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his views on the creation of another domain name registry here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17009/02]
Written Answers. - Internet Domain Registry.
The Internet initially evolved within a primarily academic environment in which country code top level domain names such as ".ie" were administered by universities. In the case of Ireland, the administration of the .ie domain name was performed by UCD.
Country code top level domain names can only be delegated to a national registry by ICANN, International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, with the approval of the national administration. ICANN is a not for profit, private sector company, which co-ordinates the policy development and operation of naming, addressing and related functions for the global Internet community.
The IEDR, dot ie Domain Registry, is a private sector not for profit company. The company is in the process of having the responsibility for the domain name registry transferred from UCD. The management of the country code top level domain by a private sector company is common in many countries. Two typical examples are the USA and the UK.
The IEDR applied to the Department, in January 2002, for approval to have the ".ie" top level domain re-delegated to it by ICANN. The Department has not yet reached a decision in this matter and is considering whether to re-delegate the .ie domain name to a private sector company by open competition or to a designated public body. In the meantime the IEDR continues to administer the ".ie" top level domain arising from the original functions performed by UCD. The IEDR is funded by subscriptions from parties who wish to register domain names under the ".ie" top level domain.