The head of the Irish Mortgage Brokers group is calling for fast-track repossessions for empty houses.

Currently 15% of all properties that are repossessed are vacant.

The statistic follows a study of 2,000 court cases where mortgage holders had been brought before a judge.

Karl Deeter is Head of client advice at Advisors.ie.

Speaking to The Sunday Show on Newstalk earlier, he said the number of repossessions is not as high as most people fear - but there is a problem with legal representation.

"There is actually an argument for a faster track repossession on empty houses," he suggested, "where people have left the country and things like that - and maybe a slower one for others.

"The big worry I have, is that you wouldn't spend a night in jail without legal representation - but you can lose the roof over your head without a lawyer. I think that there's a big gap in civil representation," he added.