Our review of start-up numbers this August revealed that 3,094 new companies and businesses were set-up between the 1st and 27th of the month (''the figure for the month as a whole is 3,379'') - an average of 114 per day.

1,366 of the start-ups registered by the 27th August 2015 were companies - 22% up on the figure for the same period in 2014 (1,117). The most popular area for company start-ups to operate in was professional services, which accounted for almost a quarter of new companies formed (361).

During the same period, 58 Irish companies were declared insolvent, down 46% on August 2014 (107). 30 of this August's insolvent companies were based in Dublin but this figure is down 41% on the previous August (51).

Almost a third of the insolvent companies operated in the professional services sector (17). The majority of industries saw drops in insolvency numbers - some significant figures include a 77% drop in construction sector insolvencies (6 v 26) and a 50% drop in the wholesale & retail sector (8 v 16).