Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The help-to-buy scheme announced in budget 2017 is an income tax incentive measure designed to assist first-time buyers with the deposit required to purchase or self-build a new house or apartment to live in as their home. With a view to increasing the supply of new housing and stimulating demand, the relief is already available in respect of new builds. In the July 2020 stimulus plan, the scheme was amended so that the level of support available to first-time buyers was increased to the lesser of €30,000, up from €20,000, or 10%, increased from 5%, of the purchase value of a new home or self-build property or the amount of income tax and DIRT paid in the four years before the purchase or the self-build.

As colleagues have said, to date the scheme has supported over 42,000 people in acquiring their own home. Revenue publishes statistics every month which include the number of help-to-buy claims as well as the amount of refunds that have issued. Each approved claim represents a qualifying property. However, the number of claims will not equal the number of applicants as there will be both individual and group applications.

As I have stated before, an increase in the supply of new housing remains a central aim and priority of Government policy. For this reason, help-to-buy is specifically designed to encourage an increase in demand for newly built homes in order to support the construction of an additional supply of such properties. The Central Statistics Office figures for the 12 months to the end of September show that there were over 31,500 new home completions. This is the highest level of new home completions in a 12-month period since the series began in 2011. The signs of future completions are also positive. There were over 2,600 housing commencements in September which is 18% higher than in the same month last year. Fundamentally, the help-to-buy scheme is there to drive supply and all the evidence points to supply increasing. I strongly believe the help-to-buy scheme is resulting in more homes being built.

For many prospective homeowners it represents the difference between them being able to own a home and not being able to do so. The extension of the scheme for a further 12 months to the end of 2025 reflects the role the scheme has played in facilitating greater numbers of first-time buyers while also encouraging the delivery of new housing units by the construction industry. The scheme will continue to be examined and if required additional changes will be considered next year.

As Senators will appreciate, the scheme has already been subject to three formal reviews, the most recent of which happened just last year.In addition, statistics on the uptake and costs of the help-to-buy scheme are published on the Revenue website monthly and annually. Therefore, I do not believe a further such report is required.