Debts registered against businesses fell in the same period by 38.4%, or €11.1m from €29m to €17.9m.

However, the company said these figures do not paint a complete picture of debt in Ireland as the courts service decided in November last year to deny public right of access to judgment information held in district and circuit courts.

Irish Judgments chairman, Malcolm Hurlston said: "We aim to challenge the bizarre decision of the courts service through the legal process and with public pressure.

"After the events of the last few years the public must demand all measures possible to ensure the highest standards in responsible lending."

Irish Judgments said that the information not being made available means that thousands of judgments and "many millions of euro of debt", is currently not available to the credit world.

Registry Trust, Irish Judgments’ parent company, is challenging the court service decision. It plans to launch a website called Open Court which it said will provide a forum for those who oppose this decision and a source of information for those who wish to know more.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, June 14, 2011