New figures from the Central Bank show that the overall level of mortgage arrears continued to slow in the fourth quarter of 2014 - their sixth quarterly fall in a row.
A total of 14.5%, or 110,366, mortgage accounts were in arrears at the end of the fourth quarter, down 6.4% at the end of the third quarter of 2014.
The Central Bank figures show that arrears of over 90 days on owner occupier mortgages fell by 7.4% on a quarterly basis to 78,699 - that represents 10.4% of the total number of such mortgages and was the lowest level since March 2012.
While the number of mortgages in arrears for over 720 days continued to rise, the Central Bank said the increase of 294 was the lowest increase in this category to date.
The Central Bank noted that early arrears declined "significantly" during the fourth quarter of last year, with a quarterly fall of 3.8% to bring the total of mortgage accounts in arrears of up to 90 days to 31,667.
About 114,674 mortgage accounts were classified as restructured by the end of December, up 4.3% on the previous quarter. Of these, almost 85% were deemed to be meeting the terms of their new agreement.
Today's figures also show that the number of buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of over 90 days decreased by 7.6% in the three months to the end of December - the biggest decrease seen in this sector so far.
By the end of December, a total of 15,386 buy-to-let mortgages accounts were in arrears for over 720 days.
Overall, the Central Bank figures show that a total of 31,667 owner occupier mortgage accounts were in arrears of less than 90 days.
9,039 accounts were in arrears for 91 to 180 days, 12,565 accounts were in arrears of 181 to 360 days, 19,317 accounts were in arrears of 361 to 720 days and 37,778 accounts were in arrears for more than 720 days.
In the buy-to-let category, the figures reveal that a total of 6,359 accounts were in early arrears of up to 90 days.
2,603 accounts were in arrears of 91 to 180 days, while 4,420 were in arrears of 181 to 360 days, 6,815 were in arrears of 361 to 720 days and 15,386 were in arrears of over 720 days.
