Figures from the Central Bank show that the slowdown in borrowing in the economy continued in May, despite a slight pick-up in mortgage lending.
The annual rate of credit growth fell from 15.9% in April to 15.1%, the lowest rate of growth since late 2003.
The amount of mortgage lending increased by €1.3 billion in the month - the biggest rise so far this year - but the annual rate of growth still fell to a 16-year low of 11.1%. The annual rate of non-mortgage credit growth dropped by 1.1 points to 18.2%.
But growth in credit card debt rose from 7.2% in April to 11.9%. The Central Bank said this was because maturing SSIA accounts led to large repayments by credit card holders in May last year.
