One in four in arrears on bills

ONE in four families were in arrears on at least one bill or loan last year compared with just one in 10 in 2008, as the recession continues to squeeze ordinary families.

Stark figures released by the CSO show that last year more than one-third of households with a gross weekly income of between €401.68 and €662.02 had arrears on at least one bill or loan. This compares with 15% of households in the same income bracket in 2008.

More than 23% of households within this income category were in arrears on “other bills”, such as health and education, just under 7% had arrears on hire purchase or other loans, almost 10% were in arrears with their mortgage or rent and close to 17% were in arrears with their utility bills.