Irish consumers are continuing to borrow less and save more, according to new statistics from the Central Bank.

The figures show that total credit to households was €97.8 billion at the end of March, down 1.2 per cent on a quarterly basis and 3.6 per cent on the same three-month period a year earlier.

The total amount of mortgage debt outstanding at the end of the first quarter stood at €121.9 billion, down from €122.6 billion in the previous quarter.

The total deposits held in financial institutions by households fell by 1.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013 to €85.6 billion.

Credit advanced to households for mortgages declined by 0.9 per cent during the quarter, the seventeenth consecutive quarterly decline.

Loans for principal dwellings, which account for 75 per cent of loans for house purchase, declined by €592 million over the quarter.

The outstanding amount of loans for buy-to-let residential properties fell by €178 million to €19.9 billion at the end of March, the figures show.

Personal lending accounted for 15 per cent of all credit advanced to households in the first quarter. This is equivalent to €14.5 billion and is down 33.2 per cent from the first quarter of 2009 when lending peaked at €28.9 billion.

Irish household deposits fell by €72 million or 0.1 per cent in the first quarter to €85.6 billion.