Ireland.com introduces charges for access to some web services

The Irish Times website, ireland.com, will tomorrow join a number of European news websites in charging for access to certain areas of the site.

The charge will apply to the news service, comprising The Irish Times, the Breaking News service, searchable archive of online newspaper articles and micro-sites, including technology, sport, business and weather.

However, a range of free content will remain, including some content from The Irish Times and Property, Jobs, Motors, and special sites covering major events such as the World Cup.

The move towards subscription is part of a trend among content-driven websites all over the world and follows the success of Ireland.com's subscription e-mail service, launched in January.

FT.com and the Times in the UK have recently introduced subscription charges for access to content.

Subscriptions are being sold on an annual, monthly or weekly basis to individuals and on an annual basis to corporate clients.

An annual subscription is €79, while individual monthly subscriptions will be €14 and individual weekly subscriptions will be €7.

Irish Times readers are being offered a special subscription rate of €59 for an annual subscription if they subscribe today.

In order to avail of the offer the following token number should be entered on www.ireland.com while making a payment: 20-36B349E6-D331B2BE