There was a 34 per cent increase in the number of companies placed in liquidation, receivership or examinership in the first three months of the year when compared with the same period last year.
Figures compiled by the FGS accounting and consultancy firm show 469 companies were placed in liquidation, receivership or examinership in the period compared to 351 in the same period in 2009.
The acceleration in the number of failures in 2010 has continued from the final three months of 2009 where some 435 failures occurred. Should the trend continue for the remainder of 2010 it is probable that some 1,800 to 1,900 failures will occur this year, compared to 1,570 failures in 2009, the firm said.
The ongoing contraction in the construction/property development sector is obvious from the statistics, with the sector accounting for 177 of all failures. There were as many failures recorded within the sector in the first three months of 2010 as had taken place in the previous two years combined.
Other notable trends include the significant increase in failures in the retail sector from 28 in the first three months of 2009, compared with 76 in the first three months of this year. "This is due primarily to the inability to pay high rents that were originally struck at the height of the economic boom," the firm said.
Other sectors in which significant failures occurred were the hospitality sector, which accounted for 12 per cent of the total failures, as well as the home furnishings / interior design, professional services, and motor industry sectors.
Retail Ireland, the Ibec group that represents the Irish retail sector, said the insolvency figures confirm the extent of the crisis facing the sector.