The Central Bank is expected to sound a warning about rising personal borrowing when it publishes its annual report this morning. It follows the publication yesterday of a study questioning the sustainability of recent borrowing trends in the Republic.
The study, conducted jointly by Irish International Bank and the ESRI, indicates that significant increases have taken place in the number of adults in debt and the average amounts they are borrowing.
It also highlights the vulnerability of certain age and income groups to rising debt levels.
The Central Bank's own monthly lending statistics have shown a strong and persistent growth in borrowing.
As of last May there was underlying growth in non-mortgage credit of 25.7 per cent.
The Central Bank is expected to underline its concerns about these trends today.
The IIB/ESRI study, carried out in March and April, finds that the proportion of the adult population with non-mortgage debt has risen from 33 per cent in 2004 to 36 per cent in 2005. It also finds that the average level of unsecured debt held by debt holders has risen from just under €5,000 to just under €6,000.
Taking into account population growth, these joint findings are broadly consistent with the rates of credit growth reported by the Central Bank. Most borrowers, 64 per cent, have non-mortgage debts of €5,000 or less. But a significant minority of adults, 19 per cent, indicated that their repayment obligations for non-mortgage debt alone constituted a "heavy burden", up from 17 per cent in 2004.
The study also finds that concern about borrowing levels differed significantly according to age and income levels.
Among borrowers in the 40 to 49 age group, 46 per cent regarded their debt burden as "heavy", while for those earning between €20,000 and €25,999 per annum the equivalent figure was 35 per cent.
"Most of the population are simply getting used to higher levels of debt, but a segment of the population are getting more worried about their exposure," said IIB economist Austin Hughes.
When asked for what purposes they were borrowing, 41 per cent of respondents indicated that they were "accumulating assets", while 59 per cent indicated that they were "financing my lifestyle".
Rising childcare costs and income concerns were among the key pressures attributed to higher indebtedness.
Mr Hughes summarised the findings by saying that while they were "not as gloomy as might have been expected", rising debt was a major concern for a significant minority of households. "Rising lifestyle expectations, combined with disappointing growth in personal incomes appear to be putting some people under stress," he said.