The strength of the Irish economy meant fewer business failures and an increase in new company registrations this year, according to the latest liquidation figures from Dun and Bradstreet. Some 519 Irish companies went into liquidation this year, a 20 per cent fall on the number in 1996. There was a 22 per cent drop in the number of court judgments marked for registration, to 2,652 in 1997 from 3,426 in 1996. The number of new company registrations continued to rise in 1997. Some 18,343 new companies were registered during the year, a 14 per cent rise on the number in 1996.