Personal debt levels - Ireland has gone mad on credit

ALARM bells are again ringing loudly over the inexorable rise in personal debt levels, which have now reached a record high.

As the latest statistics from the Central Bank indicate, Ireland has gone mad on credit. But while there is an obvious need for people to exercise greater prudence in their personal borrowings, it would be wrong to predict a doomsday scenario.

Undoubtedly, the big worry is mortgages. For some time now, international economists have been warning that house prices will collapse and that home owners will inevitably find themselves in a negative equity crisis.