Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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351. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if it is possible to combine all three schemes, that is, the HTB scheme, the first home scheme and council mortgage, when purchasing a home, in relation to the requirement for the HTB mortgage minimum to be 70% of the value of the house; if the council mortgage is not sufficient to meet this minimum, if the first home scheme can be used to bridge the gap, thereby allowing a person to meet the 70% threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40993/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The First Home Scheme, which launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme, designed to help bridge the gap for eligible first-time buyers, eligible homebuyers, and self-builders, between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home (within price ceilings established across the country).

The First Home Scheme (DAC) is a partnership between the State, Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, and PTSB. To be eligible for the First Home Scheme a person must (1) have mortgage approval with a Participating Lender, and (2) avail of the maximum mortgage available from one of the Participating Lenders (within the 4x gross income limit set by the Central Bank's macro-prudential rules). In relation to Help to Buy and First Home, the FHS can fund up to 30% of the property purchase price or build cost (for Self-builds), with this amount reduced to 20% if the applicant is availing of the Help to Buy Scheme (HTB).

The Local Authority Home Loan is targeted at those who cannot get sufficient funding from regulated financial providers to purchase or build a home. A person cannot be eligible for both the First Home Scheme and Local Authority Home Loan.

The Help-to-Buy incentive is a scheme to assist First-time Buyers in meeting the deposit requirements for newly-built houses or apartments, as well as self-build homes. The Help to Buy scheme is administered by the Department of Finance. It can be used in conjunction with either the First Home Scheme or the Local Authority Home Loan.