The mortgage crisis in Carlow and Kilkenny, Ireland, is continuing to escalate.

Fianna Fáil bye-election candidate Bobby Aylward has expressed alarm and said the new figures reveal that the mortgage default rate in Carlow and Kilkenny is significantly higher than the national average.

The figures, obtained by Fianna Fáil through Parliamentary Questions, show that 14.2% of mortgage holders in Carlow have defaulted on their payments while 12.4% of mortgage holders in Kilkenny have defaulted. These figures relate to June 2014 but they are the latest available.

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He said: "It is shocking to think that more than 14% of mortgage holders in Carlow and 12% in Kilkenny are simply unable to pay their mortgages. These are people who are in such severe difficulty that they have had to default on their payments. And unfortunately these figures are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the extent of the mortgage crisis here, as I know there are many more homeowners who are just barely keeping their heads above water.

"This is a damning indictment of the Government’s record on tackling the mortgage crisis. The crisis has spiralled out of control as mortgage holders are left at the mercy of banks.

"They cannot ignore this crisis any longer."

(CD/MH)