The average debt per capita of people living in Ireland is now €38,938.
But per capita net wealth (the value of houses and financial assets minus borrowings) is €97,394, according to new figures published by the Central Bank.
Total household debt - defined as total loans to the non-business, non-government sectors of the economy - has continued to fall, and now stands at €178.5 billion.
This is €25.2 billion lower than the peak level of household debt, which occurred at the end of 2008. The fall in total debt levels has helped improve the debt to disposable income ratio, a key measure of private debt sustainability.
Total net worth of the household sector - that is the sum of housing and financial assets minus liabilities - is €446.4 billion, down 1.2% or €5.5 billion compared with the previous quarter. This is mainly due to the fall in value of housing over this period.
Overall net worth has declined 37.7% since its peak in the spring of 2007.
Irish households have been net repayers of debt since the fourth quarter of 2008.
In contrast the government and the non-financial corporate sector (businesses other than banks, insurance and pension companies) have continued to rack up borrowings, with the Government now owing €192.7 billion, the highest level of debt to date.
The business sector now owes €331 billion, also a record high, the equivalent of 205% of GDP.
The rise in corporate sector debt shown in the latest Central Bank quarterly financial accounts is largely driven by the activities of multinational companies here, which have increased the size of the balance sheets during this period as well. This suggests that the increase in this debt has not affected debt sustainability in the sector.
According to the Central Bank, Non-Financial Corporate (NFC) debt was 52% of financial assets of the sector, and 40% of total liabilities. This latter ratio has averaged 40% since the first quarter of 2007.
Overall the bank says "NFC's have become less indebted relative to the size of their balance sheets over the last four quarters".
The average level of NFC debt in the euro zone is 104% of GDP. Ireland at 205% is considerably higher - indeed it is the second highest in the EU. But the highest level - 280% of GDP - is in Luxembourg, another small country with a very high level of activity by multinational companies.
The Central Bank will publish new research on debt levels in the Irish corporate sector in its quarterly bulletin for the first quarter of 2013.
