Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 185: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide detailed statistics on consumer debt here; the way it has evolved over the past five years; the way it is broken down by mortgage debt, credit card debt, hire purchase loans, car loans and other secured or unsecured personal loans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11149/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Private sector credit growth and debt levels are, in the first instance, a matter for the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland and details are published by the Bank in their Quarterly Bulletins.

Set out below is a breakdown of personal (consumer) debt over the period 2004 to 2008. Information is available for total personal sector lending, house mortgage finance, other housing finance, finance for investment and other personal lending including credit card debt, as compiled by the Central Bank. The Central Bank does not separately identify hire purchase or car loans in the banks' returns.

The data shows that: Total Personal Sector Lending: Between Q1 2004 and Q1 2007 total personal sector lending increased at annual rates of over 20%. After that date the yearly growth rate began a steady decline and stood at 4.1% at end-2008.

House Mortgage Finance: Similar to total personal sector lending, house mortgage finance experienced year-on-year growth rates of over 20% between Q1 2004 and Q1 2007. Since then growth rates have declined markedly and stood at an annual rate of 5.8% at end-2008.

Other Housing Finance: This series represents largely bridging finance and as a result this series has experienced volatile year-on-year growth rates.

Finance for Investment: This series includes lending to private individuals for purposes such as business, debt consolidation, education, etc. The series peaked in mid-2005. From the start of 2006, this category started a steady decline, experiencing negative annual growth rates for the first time in 2008.

Other personal: This category experienced growth rates of over 20% for the first time in mid-2004, continuing this strong growth until peaking in Q1 2005 at 32.1%. Negative annual growth rates in the first two quarters of 2006 resulted from reclassifications. At end-Q4 2008 this category had an annual growth rate of minus 1.1%.

Credit Card Debt: The high growth rates seen in 2004 and early 2005 are as a result of the expansion in the number of banks reporting credit card debt and do not represent trend growth. In Q4 2008, personal credit card debt reached its lowest annual growth rate, at 5.3%, since the series began.