Irish people now almost €200bn in debt
Irish people are continuing to borrow heavily and were in debt to the tune of almost €200bn at the end of November, according to figures released by the Central Bank today.
The bank said total borrowing by "non-government Irish residents" increased by €3.8bn (2%) to €194.5bn during the month of November.
The largest increases were in residential mortgage lending, which went up by €1.5bn, and term/revolving loans, which rose by €1.4bn.
The value of overdrafts also increased by €418m during the month, while mortgages for non-residential properties were up by €272m.
On an annual basis, the Central Bank said total borrowing increased by 25.8% in the year to November, compared to annual growth of 25.2% in the 12 months to October.
A breakdown of the figures showed that, unlike in previous years, much of the new money being borrowed was for non-mortgage purposes, which now account for 50% of all lending, compared to 36% in 2002.
