New research from the Central Bank has shown that the number of mortgages in arrears from April to June this year rose to 10.9%.
That is up from 10.2% for the previous three months, with more than 128,000 mortgages now believed to be behind on repayments.
A total of 83,251 of mortgages were in arrears over 90 days by the end of June, up from 77,630 accounts at the end of March.
The Central Bank noted that while the number of accounts in arrears of more than 90 days increased by 7.2% during the second quarter of 2012, the total value of the arrears outstanding increased by 11%.
By the end of June, a total of 761,533 residential mortgages were held in Ireland which were worth €112bn.
The Central Bank has for the first time also published data on mortgage arrears which are less than 90 days behind schedule.
These figures show that 45,165 mortgage accounts were in arrears of less than 90 days at the end of June, an improvement compared with the 46,284 in arrears at the end of March.
The bank said it was publishing this data to help bring greater transparency around the trend in early arrears.
The figures also reveal that a total of 84,941 mortgage accounts have been restructured by banks.
These would include mortgages that have been switched to interest only, a reduction in the payment amount, a temporary deferral of payment and extending the term of the mortgage. The figure is up 6.6% on the first quarter of the year.
The Central Bank said that a total of 146 properties were repossessed in the second quarter of 2012.
44 of these were repossessed on the orders of the courts, while the other 102 were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned.
The bank said that lenders are currently trying out new ''forbearance and loan modification techniques'' to provide longer-term and more sustainable solutions for customers who find themselves in financial difficulty.
