Number of mortgages in arrears falls by 5%

There has been another fall in the number of households in mortgage arrears.

New figures from the Central Bank show 5,673 homes came out of arrears in the first three months of a year - a drop of 5.1%.

But the details also show an increase in the number of households which are over two years behind in arrears - and over a third of all troubled mortgages are now two years behind on their repayments.

Banks repossessed 156 homes on foot of a court order, while another 195 homes were voluntarily handed over by borrowers.