The Central Bank says the weighted average interest rate on all outstanding Irish mortgages is 2.98%, lower than the comparable euro area average rate of 3.85%.
The Irish rate is down 44 basis points from last September, compared to a fall of just six6 basis points for the whole Euro area.
The large difference is due to the higher proportion of variable rate mortgages in Ireland, particularly the prevalence of tracker mortgages, which closely follow the ECB main policy rate, which is now at a record low level of 1%.
In most other euro area countries, long term fixed interest rate mortgages are the norm.
The Central Bank said the weighted average interest rate on new mortgages was 3.15% in March, up from 3.09% in February.
Almost 90% of new mortgages issued in the last six months were either variable rate or fixed for up to one year, but such loans accounted for just 30% of new mortgages issued for the whole euro are in the same period.
The equivalent euro area interest rate was higher than the Irish rate at 3.31%.
While average mortgage rates may be lower in Ireland, short term loans (maturity up to one year) - which includes overdrafts and credit cards - are more expensive in Ireland than the euro area average, with the rate here at 8.73% compared to the average rate of 8.07%.
Longer term loans (over five years) were cheaper here at 4.12%, compared with a Euro area average of 5.25%.
The weighted average interest rate on new loans - excluding mortgages - fell in March to 5.96%, from 7.75% in February.
However the Central Bank warned that because lending in this category has been very low over the past year - averaging €250m a month - that interest rates tend to be very volatile.
Irish Banks also pay higher deposit rates than the euro area average, reflecting the intense competition for deposits by Irish institutions, which face difficulties in obtaining funds in the interbank market.
The weighted average deposit interest rate paid by Irish banks now stands at 3.47%, compared with the euro area average of 2.81%. The euro area average rate has increased by 35 basis points since the start of 2011, while the Irish rate has increased by 69 basis points in the same period.
Analysing outstanding volumes, the Central Bank said there is a compositional shift in Irish savings away from short term demand accounts to deposit accounts with a longer maturity, which pay higher interest rates. The weighted average interest rate at the end of March on deposits redeemable at notice was 1.95%, down 48 basis points from six months earlier.
For businesses, the cost of borrowing from banks was a weighted average rate of 3.41%, lower than the Euro Area weighted average of 3.74%
For new loans of up to €1m - often used as a proxy for lending to the SME sector - the weighted average rate of interest was 4.6% in March, a fall of 35 basis points compared to February.
The equivalent rate for all Euro Area institutions was lower 4.24%, confirming earlier central bank research that showed Irish SMEs face higher costs and tighter lending conditions for credit.
For loans in excess of €1m, Irish businesses paid a weighted average in March of 3.64%, but the Central Bank cautioned that the volume of loans in this category is very low, that month on month interest rate changes are very volatile, and can be unduly influenced by a very small number of contracts. The equivalent rate for all euro area institutions was lower at 2.75%.
Businesses are getting more interest on their deposits in Ireland, again a reflection of the funding difficulties faced by Irish banks. Here the weighted average interest rate paid on deposits of up to two years was 3.14% in March, compared to a Euro area average of 2%.
Interest paid on Irish deposits to Non-Financial Corporates has increased by 83 basis points over the past year, compared to the euro Area average of just 15 basis points for the same period.
