Regional entrepreneurs are at risk of being left behind as the number of startups this year looks set to outstrip a record-breaking 2015.

Close to 4,000 startups were established last month as improving economic conditions encouraged more entrepreneurs into the world of business.

The number of insolvencies last month fell by almost 50% on the same period in 2014, while more new companies were established this month.

Last month saw a 45% year-on-year reduction in company failures with 89 insolvencies noted, compared to 162 in the same month last year.

Insolvencies in some parts of the country have nosedived by more than 50% in the past month despite a quarterly nationwide increase, two reports indicate.

Fresh calls have been made for a solution to the consumer debt problem, with new figures showing a 56% year-on-year increase in money awarded to the banks in bad debt court judgments in the first quarter.

An average of 132 start-up companies and businesses were established every day in January - up by 22.5% compared to the same period last year.

The first month of the year saw a 16% increase in new companies being formed in Ireland, with a total of 3,713 — or an average of 132 per day — being established.

Last year saw the highest number of company formations in seven years and the lowest number of insolvencies for five years.

This year should see more than 17,000 new company formations; the largest single-year total since 2007.

The number of bankruptcies registered in Ireland to date have increased 8 fold, when compared with figures from 2011.

There are further signs the economy is recovering after new figures from Vision-net.ie show the number of company start-ups reached its highest level last month since pre-recession 2007.

On Tuesday it was reported that Vision-net.ie, described as a business risk analysis firm, mused that the ‘hallmarks of an economic recovery’ were evident.

An increase in the number of new companies established in the first half of the year, combined with a reduction in the number of insolvencies are "the hallmarks of an economic recovery", according to a business risk analysis firm.

Women are playing a strong role in getting Ireland's economy back on track, according to a survey carried out by vision-net.ie.

Credit union branches have secured over €37m in court judgments against loan defaulters in the past three years.

Credit unions have been forced to go to the courts to recoup €3.6m in loans after lending up to 20 times more than they should have.

Many credit unions have been lending far in excess of what they can afford, new findings demonstrate, with some individual loans amounting to 20 times the allowable amount.

OVER 2,000 judgments worth almost €34 million have been awarded against struggling credit union customers who have failed to repay outstanding loans since 2008, but this is just the “tip of the iceberg”, it has been warned.

Nine Irish companies were declared insolvent every working day in the month of October, according to figures released today by vision-net.ie.

FOUR companies a day went out of business in the first seven months of this year.

ALMOST five companies have gone bust every day from January to June 2011, according to InsolvencyJournal.ie’s latest figures.

Eight Irish companies were declared insolvent every working day in the first half of this year.

The number of Irish company start-ups in the first half of 2011 has exceeded comparable figures recorded for 2009 and 2010, according to figures released today.

EIGHT companies a day went bust in May with figures showing people are shying away from starting a business.

THE value of outstanding personal and corporate debt recovered through court action has shot up 146% to €894 million in 2010.

BUSINESSES continued to struggle this month, with figures showing that the number of company closures soared by 46% while an average of €6.6 million was left unpaid in debt each day.

LIQUIDATIONS in January were down 17.3% on figures for the same period in 2010.

THE final two months of the year are likely to see a surge in company liquidations, according to business information and risk agency Vision-Net.ie.

MORE than 37 start-ups a day were set-up in the first six months of this year.

NEW business start-ups showed further growth in 2006, maintaining an unbroken trend since 2002.