The level of Irish household debt fell over the final three months of 2012 due, in part, to €400m worth of loans being written down by financial institutions.
The Central Bank's latest financial accounts, for the final quarter of last year, show household debt fell by €2.9 billion during the period to €173.9 billion.
The reduction in household indebtedness means the ratio of debt to disposable income, which is considered a key measure of how sustainable the debt burden is, fell to 201.6%.
The debt sustainability ratio peaked at just over 221% in 2010.
Household debt in Ireland is still high by international standards. The total figure of €173.9 billion equates to €37,928 on a per capita basis.
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