Séamus McGrath
Question:225. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to review the qualifying criteria for the help to buy scheme, particularly the property price ceiling. [73040/25]
View answerThursday, 18 December 2025
Questions (225)
Written answers
The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive, is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The incentive gives a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in Ireland over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in the legislation.
The level of support available to first time buyers under the HTB scheme, is whichever is the lesser of:
• €30,000; or
• 10 per cent of the purchase price of the new property or
• the amount of Income Tax and DIRT paid in the four years before application for the relief.
Based on the latest available data (30 November 2025), the scheme has supported over 61,000 individuals or couples to buy or build their own home.
A comprehensive independent review of the scheme was carried out by external consultants in 2022. While this review included a number of recommended amendments to the scheme, it did not recommend an increase to the €500,000 house price limit.
The Programme for Government commits to the retention and revision of the HTB scheme. As the Deputy will appreciate, any revisions to the scheme would have to take into account the effective operation of the scheme and the impact any proposed changes would have on the broader housing market, but these matters will be kept under review.