Written answers
Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Department of Finance
Tax Reliefs
Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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307. To ask the Minister for Finance the total expenditure on the help to buy scheme in each year since the scheme was launched, including expenditure to date in 2023; and the budget allocation for the scheme in 2024. [56290/23]
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by Revenue that the total costs for fully approved Help to Buy claims for the years 2017 to 2022, including retrospective cases for the period 19 July to 31 December 2016, are outlined in the ‘Cost of Tax Expenditures’ publication, which is available on the Revenue website at www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/tax-expenditures/costs-expenditures.aspx.
However for ease of reference for the Deputy I have included the below table:
| Year | Cost €m |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 69.4 |
| 2018 | 73.5 |
| 2019 | 101.1 |
| 2020 | 120.4 |
| 2021 | 190.5 |
| 2022 | 181 |
The provisional cost of approved claims for 2023 is €185.6 million. This figure includes only cases that were fully approved during the year. A final cost for 2023 will be published in the ‘Cost of Tax Expenditures’ publication in Q3 2024.
To answer the Deputy’s question on the budget allocation for 2024, Help to Buy is a demand led scheme which is subject to a broad range of variables, including housing completion rates and prices. For the purposes of the Budget 2024 documentation, a figure of €181 million was estimated as the full year cost going forward.
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