According to the latest data available, the number of new mortgages approved during the previous month ahs increased by ten per cent in Ireland.

The Irish Banking Federation said that banks in the country approved 1,677 mortgages for house and apartment in the month of October. The figure is 10 per cent higher than the total number of mortgages approved in the month of September.

Out of the total 1,677 mortgages approved in October, 1,565 were for house purchases and 112 were re-mortgages. The figure is highest since January 2011, when the approval series began in Ireland. The federation collects data from nne leading banks including Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks, EBS, KBC, Permanent TSB, Ulster Bank, Danske Bank, Haven Mortgages and ICS Building Society.

The latest figure comes after it was reported that there was an increase in actual mortgage draw-downs during July, August and September this year. Experts say that the increase in the number of approval si encouraging but the lending remains subdued in Ireland. The federation did not release figures for the number of mortgage applications turned down by the banks.

Felix O'Regan of the banking federation said, "Our experience is that it is very difficult to get consistency across a range of lenders on the numbers turned down for a mortgage, so results are not reliable and thus don't add value to the overall picture."