Almost €900 million was awarded in court judgments last year against people and businesses who failed to pay debts, according to figures published by risk agency Vision-net.ie. It said this was a rise of 146 per cent on 2009.

Analysis by Vision-net.ie indicates that the value of the average judgment has increased dramatically over the past three years.

The 2008 average of €8,817 increased to an average of €15,270 in 2009 and reached €58,354 last year.