With the central Dublin skyline continuing to feature a plethora of cranes, it seems amazing that construction companies could be going wallop in the current climate.

And yet, according to a new survey from business information group Experian, 97 of the 313 liquidations in the Republic last year came from the construction sector.

Small to medium-sized firms accounted for the bulk of liquidations in the building trade, according to Experian director Liam Reddy. The tendering process has become more competitive and many small contractors are operating on small margins with little or no leeway for mistakes.

"People are undercapitalised and they don't have sufficient funds to carry them over the bad times, " says Reddy. "If they have the slightest hiccup, they're struggling."

Surprisingly, the catering and food sector was the other area of the economy that had particular problems last year, the insolvency data show. Traditionally many restaurants fail in their first year of operations, and the proliferation of new outlets means that some will not make the grade.

Again it was the small players in the food sector suffering, with one- or two- person operations going to the wall. "There were no household names, " according to Reddy.

The number of liquidations fell to an all-time low last year, reflecting the continued strength of the Irish economy, and Experian expects even fewer firms to go bust this year.