111 corporate insolvencies were recorded in Ireland in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest figures published by Deloitte.
This represents a decrease of 30% from the same quarter in 2020, when 159 incidents were recorded.
According to Deloitte, this lower level of insolvency activity is likely to be influenced by the measures introduced by the government to support struggling companies and their employees through the Covid-19 pandemic.
David Van Dessel, Partner, Financial Advisory at Deloitte said the true level of "corporate distress" is likely to be concealed by the level of Government support available.
"Adopting a strategy of early action will always provide businesses and their directors with the greatest suite of options, from refinance to restructuring, and will have them ready to act quickly as government support measures are phased out," he said.
The report shows that the services sector recorded the highest number of corporate insolvencies in the first quarter of 2021 at 52.
This represents 47% of all insolvencies during the period and marks a slight decrease on the same quarter in 2020, during which the services sector saw 54 insolvencies.
Within the services sector, financial services saw 37 insolvencies, representing 33% of all insolvencies recorded in Q1 2021.
Outside of the services sector, the construction sector saw 24 insolvencies in Q1, the retail sector recorded 13, the hospitality sector reported a total of 11 insolvencies, the manufacturing sector reported six, the wholesale sector reported three and the transport sector reported two.
Geographically, the highest number of corporate insolvencies in Q1 was recorded in Leinster, with 67 insolvencies - 60% of the total.
