Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. The help-to-buy scheme, the first home scheme and the vacant property refurbishment grants have all been very successful in supporting young people to go out and purchase their first home.These schemes have made a crucial difference to so many families since they were first introduced. The success of the vacant property grant is becoming clear every day of the week. There has been something like 8,500 applications for that grant thus far, whereby somebody on a vacant property can get a grant of up to €50,000 for refurbishment, or a grant of up to €70,000 for a derelict property. That has been hugely successful, not just from the point of view of young people being able to refurbish a property, but also to help our towns and cities deal with vacancy. Even in rural Ireland, it has been very welcome. I know in my own county of Monaghan, something like 170 have applied for this particular scheme and to a grant aid of approximately €6 million. The figures in Cavan are similar.

These schemes have been hugely beneficial and it is vitally important that everyone acknowledges that fact. However, as the Minister of State knows, time, money and crucially, inflation, do not stand still. There is now clearly a need for the Government to look again at these grants with a view to increasing the thresholds in order for more people to be able to avail of them, bearing the inflation in construction costs in recent years in mind. The help to buy scheme, which I mentioned earlier, came into effect in January 2017 and was designed to help first-time buyers acquire a deposit necessary to build or buy a new home. As I said, it has been hugely successful. In 2020, it was increased by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien to €30,000 for young people to help them make that first step. As I said, something like 48,000 have applied for that scheme. Every week, 500 people use the scheme to help them get their first home. Unfortunately, house prices continue to rise and the price for building and construction materials has gone up approximately 48% since 2019, which is something none of us could have ever foreseen when these schemes were first introduced.

According to industry experts, there is a real sign that the price of materials, crucial for the construction of properties, has no sign of abating. That, coupled with the increase in labour costs, means unfortunately that the value of these grants continues to be eroded. Regarding labour, I know the Government has introduced some very worthwhile schemes, including the apprenticeship and trainee schemes. Unfortunately, while they have been successful, it will take some time for them to eat in. The median price of a new home in rural Ireland at the moment is €400,000, whereas it is €500,000 in Dublin. Inflation in the cost of materials and labour continues to push up housing costs and, ultimately, prices. We all know the need for housing is great, but market demand is constrained by the ability to pay. Therefore, the level of supports for first-time buyers needs to be kept under current review, be it the first-time help to buy initiative or for renovation and refurbishment. In order to keep pace with the increase in costs of materials and labour, there is a need for these schemes to be constantly reviewed. I ask the Government to look at my request and I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's response to that.