The new house grants scheme was introduced in its present form in 1977. The main purpose of the grant was to encourage new house building. For this reason first-time purchasers who bought an existing house did not qualify for the grant. In 1977 only 17,000 or so new private houses were being built. Last year private housing output amounted to over 47,000 units. The level of home ownership in Ireland is about 80%, the highest in Europe by some margin. First-time buyers now account for about 40% of all purchases. The abolition of the grant is not intended simply to generate savings for the Exchequer. The intention is that the funding devoted to the grant will in future be allocated to the local authority and social housing programme. Over the lifetime of the Government this could involve up to €200 million.