Following an increased focus on civil enforcement, 21 company directors were disqualified last year following legal proceedings taken by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), compared to just three in 2004.
In his interim review of 2005, Director of Corporate Enforcement, Paul Appleby, also noted the continued success of prosecuting company law offences.
There was 109 charges determined by the District Court last year in 19 cases which resulted in 49 convictions.
Appleby also expressed satisfaction at the improved recording of disqualified people in the Companies Registration Office's (CRO) register. Following co-operation between the ODCE, the Courts Service and the CRO in 2005, the register now lists over 1,000 disqualified persons.
The ODCE saw a 21 per cent increase in the number of cases of alleged misconduct reported to it in 2005 and now has 1,000 cases it is evaluating.
However, Appleby pointed out that his office requested 20 more staff in a submission to government last year.
Priorities for the ODCE in 2006 include the development of compliance guidelines in new areas, e.g. audit committees and the redevelopment of its website to provide improved access to compliance and enforcement information.