The Tanaiste says it is time to see lenders engaging with householders to resolve the mortgage arrears crisis.

This week the government is expected to outline proposals for banks on how to deal with the issue. It comes after the latest Central Bank figures showed 12% of residential mortgages or almost 100,000 are now in arrears.

However the rate of increase in arrears is beginning to slow.

The Communications Minister said last week that banks are not interested in repossessing houses from customers who are in arrears with their mortgages. Pat Rabbitte was responding to comments from the SIPTU General-President Jack O'Connor.

He described renewed talk of evictions as 'reprehensible and barbaric'.

But Minister Rabbitte says there has been no increase in the number of evictions and that we should wait to see the results of the Personal Insolvency Bill.

Eamon Gilmore was speaking in Brussels this morning on his way into a meeting about the crisis in Syria. He says householders need to be helped out of the crisis.