TIL DEBT DO US PARTY...

Record €2.5BN in loans for cars, hols and little jobs around house

- SEAN MURPHY

HOUSEHOLDS fell into record amounts of debt last year as more than €2 billion was borrowed to fund holidays, weddings and cars with personal loans.

Home improvements were also added to the list - as spending activity reached its highest level in five years, according to new figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland.

It follows similar figures from the Central Bank that reported that the public was in debt in March by €13 billion in the form of outstanding consumer credit - the highest level since 2020.

The BPFI revealed a record high of €2.5 billion in personal loan drawdowns were made in 2024, with car loan values up by 20% and green loans up more than 25% compared to 2023.

It is the highest annual loan activity since records began in 2020 with overall volumes up by 13% and values up by almost 22% compared to 2023.

Some 66,207 car loans valued at €856 million were drawn down in 2024.

The average green loan value in 2024 was €23,081, more than double the average of all loans.

Total loan values rose by more than 20% (21.6%) to almost €2.5 billion compared to 2023, while loan volumes rose by 13% to 229,423, over the same period.