John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the announcement made last week on the extension of the first home scheme to self-builds, which will be fantastic assistance to many young people looking to build their first home in rural Ireland. The issue of construction inflation has meant that many projects that were initially estimated to be of a certain budget, with mortgages approved for a certain figure, have gone much higher and therefore there was a gap that the first home scheme will now be able to fill up to a maximum of 20% or 30%, if combined with the help-to-buy scheme. More than 43,000 individuals and couples have availed of the scheme since it was introduced and about a quarter of them are for self-builds. Young people who have shovel-ready projects with planning permission but had a gap between their maximum mortgage and the build costs of that unit will now be able to avail of the first home scheme. That is a very welcome intervention by the Government.

In that context, I would welcome a debate with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, on the overall progress of Housing for All and all of the various additional schemes Government has put in place to assist young and not so young people to be able to own their own home. I refer to schemes such as the affordable purchase scheme, the vacant property refurbishment grant, the first home scheme and the help-to-buy scheme – a whole array of them that many in the Opposition are fundamentally opposed to. I would welcome that debate being scheduled as early as possible.