The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise and InnovationFrances Fitzgerald T.D published the Companies Registration Office (CRO) Annual Report for 2016 on 29 June.

The report shows that 20,951 new companies were incorporated in 2016, the highest number of company incorporations in any one year since 1998. 

Also included in the CRO’s annual report:

• There were 207,677 companies on the Register at the end of 2016 up from 201,901 in 2015
• There were 197,000 Annual Returns filed
• The downward trend in the number of liquidations initiated continued with 1,754 notices registered as compared to 1,850 notices in 2015. Of these 1,754 liquidations, only 642 related to insolvent companies compared to 816 insolvent company liquidations in 2015
• 20 companies went into examinership in 2016. 14 of these companies returned to trading whereas 6 entered liquidation
• 340 receiverships were initiated in 2016.  This was a small increase from 327 in 2015 but is in line with a general reduction since 2012, when 654 receiverships were initiated
• The number of new business names registered by the CRO in 2016 was 24,848
• 90% of companies were up-to-date in filing their annual returns at the end of 2016
• 8,302 companies were struck off the register during the year due to their failure to file annual returns
• The income of CRO for 2016 was just over €20 million which included €10,088,000 in penalties paid by companies who were late in filing their annual returns.  

View a copy of the report.