Figures from the Central Bank show that the amount of borrowing in the economy continued to grow strongly in April, with the annual rate of growth hitting its highest level since March 2000.
Private sector credit grew at an annual rate of 29.6%, up from 29% in March. The Central Bank said non-mortgage lending grew by 29.4%, from 28.1% in March, though this was mainly due to a small increase in April 2005 which dropped out of the calculations.
Residential mortgages rose by €1.8 billion in the month, bringing the total to €106.4 billion. The annual growth rate fell slightly - from 29.8% to 29.5%. The bank said that if residential mortgages continued to grow at this rate, the amount of loans outstanding would more than double in three years.
The figures also show a larger than usual increase in credit card debt, with the annual rate of growth climbing from 15.5% to 17.3.
