Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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92. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of applications made to the help-to-buy scheme to date; the number of claims made; the average value of those claims; the estimated cost of the scheme for 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30691/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Help to Buy incentive aims to both assist those first-time buyers struggling to save for the deposit required to purchase a house, as well as incentivising additional building and the provision of extra housing stock. At Budget time it was estimated that the Help to Buy incentive would cost €40 million per annum but €50 million in 2017 due to the backdating of the relief in respect of properties which became eligible for the scheme since 19 July 2016.

Revenue publishes regular updates on the HTB scheme on its website.  The most recent update to 16 June 2017 in respect of applications, both approved and pending, and claims made can be found at

To avail of the incentive involves two stages. Stage 1 is the Application Stage, wherein prospective applicants can query whether they qualify for the incentive. They can also get clarity on the maximum amount of rebate they could potentially benefit from, based on their tax paid in a four-year period. Stage 2 is the Claims Stage, wherein applicants that decide to proceed with purchasing or building a qualifying property must provide documentary evidence of the relevant property transaction or their mortgage draw down.

As of Friday 16 June 2017, Revenue has received 7,275 Applications for the HTB scheme, of which 4,691 have been approved.  The published statistics at 16 June 2017 also show that 2,252 claims have been made, of which 1,679 have been approved.  The total estimated cost to the Exchequer of these verified claims is €24.5 million, of which €11.4 million represents retrospective claims (home purchases and self-builds in the period 19 July to 31 December 2016).  The average value of claims is €14,592. 

As the Deputy will be aware, during the Committee Stage debate on Finance Bill 2016, I agreed to commission an independent impact assessment on the effects of the Help to Buy incentive for completion prior to Budget 2018. Following a competitive tender process, Indecon Economic Consultants were appointed in April to undertake this impact assessment and it is expected that the assessment will be completed and submitted to me by the end of August.