BoI survey reveals over 15,000 start-ups this year

Dublin has the most business start-ups in Ireland this year, according to a new survey from Bank of Ireland (BoI).

The BoI’s Business Start-Up Barometer, which tracks the number of companies established in Ireland, reveals that 5,479 companies have been set up in Dublin.

With the economy flying, the barometer shows that it has been another active year for start-up activity, with 15,161 new companies established to date nationwide for 2006, or 75 new firms established each working day since January 1, a 2% increase on the number of companies set up in Ireland this time last year.

With a building boom still on the boil, construction and civil engineering remains the top sector for business start-ups with 1,877 (12.3%) new companies. The real estate sector occupies a close second spot with 1,822 (12.1%) companies forming this year.

Consultancy is also a popular start-up choice with 728 (4.8%) new businesses and 449 (2.9%) software consultancy firms now up and running in 2006.

The second most popular county for start-ups is Cork where 1,227 companies were formed, Galway with 726 start-ups and Limerick with 536 new companies.

Interestingly, statistics compiled show that the most popular male director first names are John, Michael and Patrick, while female directors are most likely to be called Mary, Margaret or Anne.

The research shows that if your star sign is anything to go by, there are more directors born under Cancer than any other sign, with the least number represented by the Capricorn sign.

Emer McDonnell, business recruitment manager at BoI, said 2006 has been a strong year for business formation activity as Ireland continues to be recognised as the most entrepreneurial country in the EU.

“Year-on-year progress has been consistent and we expect momentum to continue across all sectors for the remainder of this year," she said.

BoI recently launched its Best Ever Deal for small businesses, which includes an award-winning deal designed to help new businesses with a range of banking offers worth about 1,500 per annum.