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About half of the nearly 86,000 mortgage breaks that have been granted to borrowers since lenders introduced them here in March were still active at the end of last week.
Of the 43,000 breaches that had expired, about nine out of ten of the affected borrowers have returned to full repayment.
37,000 of the breaks spanned three to six months, and most of those breaks were still active a week ago.
The data was released by the Irish Federation of Banking and Payments, as major banks, non-bank lenders and credit service companies prepare to launch a major information and publicity campaign next week.
Their goal is to support and assist the thousands of people who will come out of mortgage payment breaks starting in September.
The campaign includes a new guide, as well as a website, paymentbreak.ie.
The guide acknowledges that while the situation for some borrowers has improved, other clients continue to suffer financially and states that they will receive full support in the next stage.
Lenders want borrowers to commit to them as soon as possible to work out sustainable arrangements for future repayments before their breakup ends.
They say they have staff who specialize in sensitively helping people with mortgage payment difficulties and arrears.
The information also sets out the steps in the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process that lenders must follow, including how to communicate with the borrower, the type of information they will seek, how the appraisal process works, and the resolution options available.
These could include restructuring the mortgage into an Alternative Payment Agreement (ARA).
This would involve revised mortgage repayments over an agreed period of time, but it would also reflect on the borrower’s credit history.
However, the Central Bank has said that there will be no impact on a customer’s credit history if they benefited from a payment disruption due to Covid-19.
Those who are in a position to go back to full refunds can choose how to refund money not paid during the rest period, according to the guide.
They may be able to pay it off over the existing term by increasing repayments or extending the term, he says.
Lenders have faced criticism for not waiving interest on repayments owed during the rest period.
A three-month payment break was introduced in March to help those who had been financially affected by the Covid-19 crisis weather the storm and this was later extended to six months.
Lenders have said they won’t offer a third three-month payment break.
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