The examinership mechanism for rescuing companies has "saved" 159 jobs in the second quarter, according to figures from accountancy firm Hughes Blake.

The company, which operates a recovery and insolvency practice, said 1,433 jobs were linked to ongoing cases where companies had sought court protection from their creditors under the process known as examinership.

Hughes Blake managing partner Neil Hughes said a series of companies had turned to the process as their best chance of survival.

“Despite the recovery taking hold, businesses which seemed to have survived the most difficult years of the recession can be forced – by mounting losses, restless creditors or unsustainable debts – into difficulty,” Mr Hughes said. “In larger companies, it can sometimes take longer for these issues to come to the fore, but they cannot be avoided.”

Under an examinership, the court appoints a corporate recovery specialist as an examiner to find a buyer or investor for companies that are either partly or wholly viable on an ongoing basis. Debts are often written down or off as part of the rescue plan, which must be approved by a majority of creditors.

Mr Hughes also said the consequences of the UK's vote to leave the European Union could not yet be fully measured. "The story of Brexit and its full implications for Irish business has yet to be written and while there may be positives for certain sectors from recent developments, the threat it poses to other sectors should not be underestimated," he said.

“Exporting is crucial to our economy’s success and the danger is that firms that had begun to think about expanding into new markets will now retrench for fear of becoming overextended.” The majority of small businesses had no safeguard against fluctuations in the value of the pound, he added.