Extra €100m for first-time buyers’ scheme under Govt plan

The Government is set to allocate another €100 million to a scheme aimed at providing funding for those buying their first home.

Correspondence seen by RTÉ News suggests that Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien is to significantly increase funding for the First Home Scheme.

This measure will soon go to Cabinet as talks intensify ahead of the Government’s final budget on 1 October.

It is part of a move to expand many of the supports that are available to first time buyers.

The scheme is a shared equity initiative in which up to 30% of the purchase price of a home can be funded in return for a share of the equity in the property.

The extra investment follows an allocation of €40 million in the scheme last April and it is estimated that the new funding will play a role in the purchase of up to 8,000 new homes.

So far, more than 11,000 people have registered their interest in the scheme and over 5,000 have to date been found eligible under the fund’s rule.

This latest move by the Government to address the housing crisis follows the publication of figures yesterday which showed 14,429 people were in emergency accommodation last month, which is a record high.

On Monday, Sinn Féin is expected to publish a comprehensive plan to provide more homes, as housing is set to be a major issue in the upcoming general election.