Issue 209 (Week ending 02/04/2014)

During the period 1st January to 25th March 2014, 10,741 company and business start-ups were recorded in Ireland - an average of 127 per day - this is up approximately 6% on the same period in 2013 (10,164).

3,989 of the start-ups in Q1 this year were companies - up 8% on the same period in 2013 (3,701) - this is the third highest figure recorded for start-ups, during that period, in the last 10 years.

The most popular industry for company start-ups was the professional services sector which accounted for 25% of new companies. The construction sector was the fifth most popular industry and saw 304 new entrants - this is up almost 29% on the same period last year.

While start-ups continued to rise, Irish company insolvencies continued to fall. 302 insolvencies were recorded between 1st Jan and 25th Mar 2014 - down 23% on the same period in 2013 (395).

Almost 44% of insolvent companies had an address registered in Dublin with Cork and Wexford accounting for a further 8.6% and 6.6% of insolvencies respectively.

The construction sector was hardest hit, accounting for 55 (18%) of insolvencies. That figure represents a 25% drop in insolvencies affecting that industry compared to the same period in 2013.

The next most affected industries were professional services and wholesale & retail which accounted for 14.9% and 14.6% of insolvencies respectively.