Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thank you. The ESRI said the scheme is likely to contribute to higher house prices. The Parliamentary Budget Office stated one third of the recipients did not need help to buy to meet the 10% deposit and that, in 2021, 63% of the claims for the scheme were used to buy properties above the national average house price. I can only talk as an ordinary TD reading the reports and looking at what is happening with houses prices skyrocketing all the time. I ask the Minister specifically for timelines for phasing out the scheme and what plans are in place to design a more targeted scheme and take on a recommendation in the Mazars report to remove self-builds. I do not express an opinion on it. I am asking him, in view of the research to date, what are his plans.

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