Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to discuss the first home scheme price ceiling, particularly for County Tipperary. As a young Member, I will highlight yet again that housing is the number one issue affecting my generation. In Tipperary, we are really struggling with privately built housing, particularly affordable housing. The first home scheme is in place to help those of us who could get a mortgage but where the purchase price of the house is higher than our mortgage to bridge the gap. However, the price ceiling in Tipperary is becoming a major issue. According to officials in the local authority, developers or those who would build houses are deciding to go to other local authorities rather than Tipperary because of the price ceiling we face.

Close to 3,700 homes have been bought under the first home scheme since it was launched three years ago this month. Thousands of others have been approved under this scheme and it is growing in popularity. It is working. Charlie Weston had a positive piece on the first home scheme or the shared equity scheme recently in the Irish Independent. This quote is important because he stated:

Buyers in Dublin, Kildare, Cork, Meath and Wicklow represent the biggest proportion of users of the scheme but the price ceiling in Dublin and Wicklow is €500,000; in Kildare, it is €475,000; and in Cork and Meath, it is €400,000. The average price of homes being purchased under this scheme is €386,000.

In early July, the price ceiling under the scheme increased across 16 local authorities but, unfortunately, Tipperary was not one of them. I will give the example of neighbouring counties of which there are a lot. In Galway and Limerick, the price ceiling is €425,000; in Kilkenny, which is part of the constituency I represent, it is €400,000; and in Clare, Offaly, Laois and Waterford, it is €375,000. However, in Tipperary, it is €350,000. To get private developments built in north Tipperary in particular, the price ceiling needs to be adjusted upwards so that we have parity with neighbouring counties. Otherwise builders will go elsewhere where they have more certainty in the market.

I do not accept the Department's calculations. I will give the example of the area I represent in north Tipperary. In Clare on one side of the River Shannon, the ceiling is €375,000 while across the bridge in Portumna in County Galway, it is €425,000. In Kilkenny on the other side of the constituency, it is €400,000 while in Laois and Offaly, it is €375,000. It does not make sense why Tipperary is so different from any of those counties. The clear message coming back from developers to me and the county council is that the scheme is workable, they like it and they can build and provide the houses we need but they are opting to go to the counties next door because of that obvious barrier we face. I have raised social housing, which is being delivered in Tipperary, many times in this House. We need to see more of it along with log cabins and modular homes but affordable housing is key and this scheme helps in this regard. It helps bridge the gap for those of us who could get a mortgage but who cannot reach that final price. I ask the Government to look at raising the price ceiling from €350,000 to possibly €375,000 for Tipperary so that the scheme can be workable.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am glad to have the opportunity to discuss the first home scheme. The scheme, which was launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme for eligible first-time buyers, eligible home buyers and self-builders. The scheme is designed to help bridge the gap between their deposit and mortgage and the price of their new home. The price of the new home must be within price ceilings established across the country.

This has been a very successful scheme that has helped thousands of individuals and families buy a home. Over 7,600 approvals have been issued since the scheme launched to the end of last month

with 3,691 homes already bought or built using the scheme. We want to expand on this success and help more people get their own home. In May, the Government approved an additional €30 million for the scheme bringing the total State commitment to €370 million. This is matched 50:50 by the participating banks and brings the total commitment to the scheme to €740 million.

The first home scheme designated activity company, DAC, is fully responsible for the operation of the first home scheme on behalf of all shareholders, including price ceiling reviews. The first home scheme board conducts a review of price ceilings at six-month intervals. I am advised that the board takes into account a range of factors as part of these reviews, including the median price and volume of new builds purchased by first-time buyers in each local authority area. The most recent review concluded at the end of last month and 16 local authority areas had their price ceilings increased.

When the scheme was first launched in July 2022, the price ceiling for the Tipperary local authority area was €250,000. This has been raised following two subsequent price ceiling reviews to €325,000

on 1 January 2023 and then again to €350,000 on 1 July 2024. The first home scheme DAC will continue to monitor the price ceilings, including in Tipperary, as part of any future review. More information on price ceiling reviews is available on the website of the first home scheme.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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The last point I will make on this concerns the second paragraph of the Minister of State's reply, which states: "I am advised that the board takes into account a range of factors as part of these reviews, including the median price and volume of new builds purchased by first-time buyers in each local authority area." The key message I hope the Minister of State brings back to the Minister and the board overseeing this scheme is that it is very hard to calculate the median price or the average price of new builds in Tipperary compared to other counties when we have so few of them. The market in Tipperary at the moment mostly involves second-hand homes so how the board can justify a cap of €350,000 as opposed to €375,000 on these homes is very difficult for me to understand. If someone heads across the county boundary to Riverstown in County Offaly or crosses into Laois or across the bridge into Portumna, all of a sudden, the cap is different. That the markets could be so different crossing those county boundaries does not add up for me. The problem for me is the way in which it is calculated. The figure of €350,000 is calculated on the price of a new build. We do not have enough new builds on the market in Tipperary to be able to calculate it but if we look at parity across county councils, we will see a much fairer system. I thank the Minister of State for being here at this hour to answer these questions and for the response he has given me and I hope he will carry these messages back to Government for me.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I assure the Deputy that the price ceiling review being undertaken on the first home scheme is done so in a considered manner. To minimise the risk of price distortions in the first-time buyer market, the first home scheme introduced the concept of price ceilings and six-monthly reviews of the ceilings from the outset of the scheme. I understand that all local authorities, including Tipperary and its surrounding local authorities, are considered in these reviews. The reviews reflect local market conditions by taking into account a number of factors, including the median price and the volume of new builds purchased by the first-time buyers. The Deputy made a valid point that if there is a distorted number of new homes because of affordability, that will distort one of the key factors taken into consideration. He made that point quite forcefully. I give an undertaking that I will bring it back to the Minister to see whether that can be taken into the next review. The one positive here is that it is a six-monthly review so we will not be waiting indefinitely.

The first home scheme commissions periodic research by KPMG to assess the extent, if any, to which the State has contributed to house price inflation. KPMG reports in both 2024 and 2025 concluded there was no evidence the scheme materially contributed to price inflation in new homes. It was also stated it remains critical the first home scheme monitors this risk on an ongoing basis. These regular price ceiling reviews will help to ensure that it does not contribute to new home price growth as the uptake of the scheme grows. This is an important scheme to help people buy a home, as the Deputy alluded to, and with affordability, especially for - unfortunately I cannot say my generation any more - the Deputy's generation in terms of their ability to get on the property ladder.

The Government is determined to continue to support people into homeownership. The Deputy made some very valid points and I undertake to refer them to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and his departmental officials for direct reply back to the Deputy.