The Central Bank has said that the rate of credit growth in the economy last year was the slowest for five years. This followed a record year in 2006.
The annual rate of growth was 17%, while the rate of growth in residential mortgage lending fell to 13.4% - down from 24.2% in 2006 and the lowest for 12 years.
Outstanding mortgages rose by €16.6 billion, 30% less than 2006's increase.
Non-mortgage lending grew by 20.6% last year, down 10 points compared with 2006, with Central Bank attributing this to a slowdown in lending to the construction and property sectors.
The bank also said the total amount of credit card debt was 9.3% higher than a year earlier. It said growth rates had fallen sharply during the year, probably because SSIA money was used to repay debt.
