The number of company dissolutions recorded during the third quarter was down 14 per cent on the preceding three-month period, according to the latest Bank of Ireland business start-up barometer.
A total of 2,847 company dissolutions occurred during the third quarter as against 3,164 in the second quarter.
The report indicates that 3,343 new companies registered in the third quarter, up 2.6 per cent on the 3,258 registrations in the second quarter.
Almost 50 per cent of new company registrations occurred in Dublin where 1,570 new firms were established. On a regional level, Co Laois showed the most marked improvement with 45 new companies formed in the third quarter as against 21 for the preceding three-months.
Overall, there was a national decrease of 11 per cent in company dissolutions during the third quarter. The greatest number of dissolutions took place in Cos Kildare, Kerry, Sligo, Longford and Waterford.
The services industry, showed an 11 per cent increase in new company registrations as 1,092 firms in the sector were established.
Meanwhile, the construction sector recorded the biggest fall in new business activity, with an 11 per cent decrease in business start-up activity in the third quarter..
The total number of new company registrations in the year-to-date is 9,974, down 14 per cent on the same period a year earlier, when 11,614 new businesses were established.