Total debt levels up €5.6bn to almost €303bn last month

Irish people and businesses now owe almost €303bn to banks and lending institutions, according to the latest monthly statistics from the Central Bank.

The bank says "private sector credit" rose by €5.8bn in September, the second highest monthly increase during 2006.

Mortgages accounted for €2.1bn of the increase, while overdrafts made up almost €500,000 of the total sum.