96 firms folded last month

Ninety-six firms went out of business last month, an average of three every day.

The figures from insolvencyjournal.ie are a decrease of 28% from the number of closures in December.

The worst hit area was Leinster, where 68% of the failed businesses were located.

Ken Fennell, who helped compile the figures, said the construction industry was hit hard last year and accounted for a quarter of closures last month.

He added that the retail and hospitality sectors were facing a tough year.

He said that overall, it was predicted that this year there would be roughly the same number of insolvencies as last year.