Hi Frodo79,
A few months ago, a friend of mine found herself in that situation, well her partner was( and still is) in that situation: high credit card debts (in the region of 17000). However, he refused to discuss the subject and was avoiding it until she sat him down and confronted him. They approached the bank (they are with AIB) and have asked an interest only period on their mortgage (6 months) in order to clear for credit card debts: they were approved.
While I do not necessarily agree with the whole idea...this was the solution for them. It, of course does not mean that the bank will approve you but it just means that yes it is something that is possible.