Two-thirds of Irish firms now have an online presence, new statistics released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

The CSO’s information society statistics shows that 66pc of Irish firms had a website or a homepage in 2009.

Online connection

Internet use is nearly universal for Irish businesses, according to the CSO report, with 95pc of Irish enterprises having a computer connected to the internet in 2009.

Access to the internet using broadband remained high in 2009, with 84pc of all businesses having a broadband connection.

High-speed DSL broadband saw a boost in 2009, with 45pc of enterprises using it compared with 41pc in 2008.

Mobile broadband use by Irish firms has also increased, with 27pc of businesses using it in 2009 compared to 24pc in 2008.

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The number of .ie registrations has reached a record high despite the recession, it has been revealed by the IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the managed registry for this domain.

The registry found a total of 9,781 .ie domains were registered in the first quarter of 2009, and that registrations in that period were up 28 per cent over the final quarter of 2008.The previous highest number of registrations was recorded in the first quarter of 2008 - at 9,092.

Over 80 per cent of the new .ie website addresses were registered by sole traders or limited companies, with the rest registered by clubs, societies and charities. A total of 98 per cent of the growth in registrations was generated by .ie resellers.

According to the IEDR, the increasing number of companies and sole traders moving their business online with a .ie website is one of the main reasons for the increase.