There was a 23 per cent increase in the number of liquidations in the Republic last year as 815 firms went into liquidation, compared to 661 in 1998, according to credit agency Experian Ireland.

But Experian said the liquidation figures were not a true reflection of the economic climate as there were more than 200 voluntary liquidations as a result of the move in the 1999 Finance Act to bring Irish non-resident companies into the tax net from October 1st. This prompted many of them to go into voluntary liquidation before this date, inflating the overall figures.

Experian Ireland, which was formerly known as the Irish Trade Protection Agency until its takeover by the British group last year, noted that the number of receiverships fell dramatically, from 25 to 10, indicating that the policy of financial institutions of nursing ailing companies back to health had been very successful.

Petitions to wind up companies also fell from 56 to 47 but Experian said the Revenue Commissioners continued to be active in petitioning companies through the courts.

The number of registered judgments fell from 2,734 to 2,398, indicating that businesses in general were experiencing less difficulty with bad debts, Experian said.

The figures broke down as follows:

1999 1998

Liquidations 815 661

Receiverships 10 25

Petitions 47 56

Examinerships 5 7

Judgments 2,398 2734