Written answers

Thursday, 10 October 2019

Department of Finance

Help-To-Buy Scheme Data

Photo of Fiona O'LoughlinFiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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104. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of help-to-buy grant approvals on a monthly basis since the scheme was launched; the number of drawdowns in this regard since the scheme was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41434/19]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Help To Buy tax incentive (HTB), announced in Budget 2017 and backdated to 19 July 2016, is 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.

HTB has a two main stages: the application stage and the claim stage. Compliant taxpayers who complete a HTB application are provided with an application number and a summary of the maximum relief available to them under the incentive. A mortgage provider, broker, qualifying contractor or solicitor can use this summary to verify the relief available to the applicant, for the purposes of mortgage approval or drawdown, or signing a house purchase contract. Revenue advise me that, to end September 2019 (the most recent month for which data are available), they have received 32,885 HTB applications.

An application will progress to the claim stage where the applicant decides to purchase a property that is eligible for the scheme. Many applications may never progress to the claim stage because the applicant does not purchase a property or purchases a property not eligible for the scheme. Revenue advise me that, to end September 2019, some 15,357 HTB claims have been made.

Claims made cannot be approved and paid until the qualifying contractor, or the solicitor acting on behalf of self-builder, has verified the claim. Claims are approved by Revenue in the vast majority of cases but at any given time there will be a number of pending claims awaiting approval. Revenue advise me that a total of 14,571 claims have been approved under the HTB scheme up to end September 2019.

The Deputy has requested a monthly breakdown of the number of HTB approvals since the scheme was launched, and the number of drawdowns in this regard. The following table outlines the number of HTB claims approved on a monthly basis since the scheme was introduced in 2017, up to end September 2019 (the most recent month for which data are available).

Month/YearClaims Approved
Sept 2019616
Aug 2019660
Jul 2019628
Jun 2019581
May 2019574
Apr 2019469
Mar 2019562
Feb 2019374
Jan 2019317
Dec 2018371
Nov 2018519
Oct 2018419
Sep 2018687
Aug 2018136
Jul 2018438
Jun 2018440
May 2018427
Apr 2018430
Mar 2018394
Feb 2018369
Jan 2018336
Dec 2017442
Nov 2017520
Oct 2017431
Sept 2017453
Aug 2017469
Jul 2017599
Jun 2017448
May 2017525
Apr 2017423
Mar 2017*534

*This figure represents all claims approved in respect of the period 19 July 2016- March 2017.

Section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act of 1997, which provides for the Help To Buy incentive, currently includes a sunset clause of 31 December 2019. In my Budget 2020 speech on Tuesday, I announced that I intend to amend the legislation to provide for an extension of HTB, in its present form, for a further two-year period up to 31 December 2021. This extension aligns with the timeline envisaged for building more homes in Rebuilding Ireland.

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