One in three mortgage holders are now over two years behind on their repayments.

The Central Bank has released figures that confirm the mortgage arrears crisis is worsening.

The statistics show that the number of those in arrears of more than 90 days has almost quadrupled since 2009 - amounting to €18.6 billion at the end of June 2013. This suggests that there is a significant quantity of distressed mortgages that are showing no signs of improvement and are simply transitioning through to the more advanced stages of arrears.

The Central Bank's quarterly survey also found that by international standards, mortgage arrears in Ireland have accelerated at a more dramatic rate than in any other country in the eurozone.

However, the newest information suggests the formation of new arrears is declining.