Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan. The first home scheme is a radical initiative that the Government introduced to bridge the gap in finance for those with mortgage approval and a deposit but who are still short in purchasing a new home. The State is stepping in and assisting them. The average equity we are providing across the country is €66,000, so it is a significant amount.

If we take that together with the help-to-buy grant, the average amount available to first-time buyers is approximately €100,000. Many people on middle-income salaries of €40,000, €50,000 or €60,000 who felt they would be unable to buy a house can now do so with the help of these schemes.

Last year, more than 4,000 individuals and couples were approved under the first home scheme. That is 4,000 households. Some 75% of those approvals have issued in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. More than 800 were approved in quarter 1 of this year alone, which is a 40% increase on the same three-month period of last year. It shows that people want this support and are using it. This evening, we are holding another public meeting about the assistance being provided by the Government to first-time buyers. Everyone knows where the main Opposition party stands on these assistances. It would abolish all those schemes.

I welcome the increased demand for the first home scheme. It is a key measure. I meet people who have mortgage approval and are not sure about the help-to-buy grant. I tell them they are eligible to get €30,000 of their own tax back for their deposit. We can now provide an equity stake that is not a second mortgage and attracts no interest from year zero to year 6. People can buy it at any stage. That is a game-changer for a significant number of families and that is why we intend to invest a further €40 million this year, which will be matched by the three partner banks. A further €80 million will be going into the first home scheme.

I welcome the Deputy’s support. As he knows, we expanded the scheme to one-off self-builds, which is important in counties such as the Deputy’s county of Cork.

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