Figures from the Central Bank show that lending to consumers continued to fall in September, though there was a pick-up in lending to businesses. Deposits held in Irish banks also fell further during September.
The bank said loans to households were down 4% compared with the same month last year. The annual fall in August was also 4%. Mortgage lending was down 2.5% over 12 months, while lending for other purposes fell by 8.9%.
Lending to business was 1.4% lower compared with September last year, but this was an improvement from August's 2.5% drop. The Central Bank said loans to businesses increased by €594m during the month after a €436m drop in August.
Business loans with terms of between one and five years rose during the month, according to the Central Bank, as did short-term loans, but there was a fall in longer-term loans to firms.
The Central Bank figures also show that private sector deposits - deposits from households, businesses, financial institutions and pension funds - fell at an annual rate of 10.5% in September, compared with a 10.4% drop in August.
The bank said financial institutions and pension funds were mainly responsible for the bigger fall, as household deposits actually increased during the month. Overall deposits dropped by more than €2 billion during September.
The amount which has been borrowed by financial institutions from the Central Bank as part of the euro system rose by €5.5 billion during September to €100.4 billion. The domestic banks accounted for €71.1 billion of this.
