The Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has said it is time to see lenders engaging with householders to resolve the mortgage arrears crisis.
This week the Government is expected to outline proposals for banks on how to deal with the issue, after the latest Central Bank figures showed 12% of residential mortgages, or almost 100,000, are now in arrears.
Speaking in Brussels this morning, Minister Gilmore said householders need to be helped out of the crisis.
He said: "What we now want to happen is that we want to see the lenders, the banks, engaging with householders and enabling householders who are in mortgage distress to find a way through that.
"People have to be able to see a way out of the crisis that they are in, they have to get peace of mind that there is going to be a resolution of their mortgage difficulty and that they are not going to lose their home."