Central Bank to publish mortgage arrears statistics

The full extent of Ireland's personal debt problems will be revealed later when the Central Bank publishes figures on the number of people struggling to repay their mortgage.

The statistics are expected to show a dramatic rise in the number of homeowners in mortgage arrears.

Yesterday, the Social Protection Minister Joan Burton urged all lending institutions to do more to help their customers who are having difficulty repaying their debts.

However Tánasite Eamonn Gilmore last week ruled out the possibility of the Government introducing a debt forgiveness scheme.

The Society of the St Vincent De Paul has indicated a huge increase in recent months in the number of people struggling to feed their families - as most of their income is used to repay their mortgage.