Petitions for the Winding-Up of a company can only be presented if the outstanding debt is in excess of €1,269 and if it can be proved that the Company in question can't pay its debts as they fall due.

As of today (17th Oct '11) the High Court has heard Petitions to have 17 Irish Companies Wound Up and is due to hear at least another 11 before the end of this month.

So far the Courts have issued Winding-Up Orders against eleven of the seventeen Irish Companies. Between them, according to their latest filed balance sheets, these companies owed their Creditors just over €40.2m (€7m Short Term and €33.2m Long Term).

The worst affected sectors in terms of these Court Ordered Liquidations are Hotels & Restaurants (4) and Real Estate (3).

Over the course of the year, the Courts have ordered the Liquidation of 68 Irish Companies (six more than in the same period in 2010). Companies in the Hotel & Restaurants sector and the Construction sector are the most common and make up almost half of all Court Ordered Wind-Ups this year.