The first four months of 2013 have seen the incorporation of 5,057 new companies - the highest figure we've seen since 2008 when 5,676 were recorded.

This year, professional services companies have been most popular, accounting for approximately a quarter of all start-ups.

Since 2008 companies in the IT sector have gradually become more commonplace rising from just 6% of start-ups upt to 9% this year.

On the other hand, companies in the Construction and Real Estate sectors have struggled in recent times, making up just 6% and 4% of start-ups respectively this year compared to 11% and 8% in 2008.

A county by county breakdown of the location of start-ups this year shows that Dublin accounts for almost 44% of new companies, followed by Cork and Meath who account for a further 10%and 5% of start-ups respectively.