The number of people in mortgage arrears has fallen again with the level of engagement between financially distressed borrowers and their lenders increasing, according to new figures released by the Department of Finance.

The latest data shows that 116,481 of the 697,690 mortgage holders in the Republic at the end of November were in arrears of some kind - a decline of 1,230 on the previous month.

The number of mortgage accounts in arrears of greater than 90 days has fallen from 80,854 to 80,487, a drop of 367 accounts.

The figures show that there were 49,304 permanent mortgage restructures at the end of November, according to the figures, an increase of 8,068 accounts since the end of August.

This monthly monitor from the Department of Finance relates to the six main banks operating in Ireland.