Mortgage arrears have now fallen for 13 successive quarters and by 44 percent from peak, with over 121,000 mortgage accounts restructured, and 88 percent meeting the terms of their restructured arrangement. As discussed at this Committee two weeks ago, the scale of mortgage distress means that mortgage lending is inherently riskier in Ireland than other euro area member states.
Thus, in my own thinking, I have tended to discount, though not dismiss, the latest readings on labor costs. However, I acknowledge that rising labor costs are an upside risk to my  4  BIS Review 92/2006  inflation outlook, especially if they occur under product-market conditions in which firms can readily pass costs through.