The number of companies dissolved during the first six months of the year was up 30 per cent compared with the same period in 2008, according to the Bank of Ireland's latest business start-up barometer.
If found 6,694 firms were registered as dissolved with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) between January and June compared with 5,131 over the same period last year.
The figures just relate to limited companies and as such do not take account of sole traders and are based on data from the CRO.
The barometer, which tracks new business start-ups, found that 6,627 new companies were registered in the first six months of the year, down 19 per cent on the same period last year, with almost half of all firms registered based in Dublin.
During the second quarter manufacturing showed the biggest percentage increase in new businesses with 249 companies formed.
Although the construction sector remains under pressure the number of dissolutions in the sector was down 16 per cent in the second quarter compared to the previous three months, with 502 firms going out of business.
