747 homeowners in Cork have benefitted from the Government’s First Home Scheme, which has supported 5,000 home purchases nationally, Cork North West Fine Gael TD John Paul O’Shea has said.
“This scheme has only been in place for a few years but has already shown to be very popular in Cork. The Government is committed to supporting people to get their own home and this shows the effectiveness of the new Housing Plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities’.”
The scheme was set up to provide funding to first-time buyers who, despite having a deposit and mortgage approval in place, still could not cover the cost of a new-build home. In exchange for providing funding, the scheme takes an equity stake of up to 30% in the home.
Of the 5,000 home purchases supported since the scheme’s inception in July 2022, almost four in ten (36%) have come in the last year. The scheme has provided over €330 million in support to people who have bought or self-built their homes.
Deputy O’Shea said, “For many young people and couples in Cork the biggest barrier to buying a home is what they can borrow, and the overall cost of getting their house. This scheme is directly addressing that challenge.
“Fine Gael is committed to supporting first-time buyers who would otherwise have been locked out of the market now getting homes of their own.”
Additional Information:
How the First Home Scheme works
The Scheme provides financial support to homebuyers and facilitates them in purchasing a new home (or building their own home) that they could not otherwise do after combining their available mortgage and deposit.
By bridging the gap between the available mortgage, deposit and the price of the new home, the Scheme will make the prospect of home ownership possible for many for the first time.
The Scheme supports the purchase of new-build homes, self-build homes and tenant home purchase, and is a joint venture between the State and three main banks, AIB (including subsidiaries EBS and Haven), Bank of Ireland and PTSB. It remains open to other authorised mortgage lenders in the Irish market to join the scheme.
If a buyer satisfies eligibility criteria and receives mortgage approval from a participating lender, then that buyer will automatically qualify for the Scheme.
Example
First-Time Buyer income |
€75,000 (single or combined) |
Maximum borrowing(4x income) |
€300,000 |
Property purchase price |
€400,000 |
Deposit |
€40,000 (10% of purchase price)If the buyer qualifies for Help to Buy they could potentially benefit from €30,000 support, leaving them with a net requirement of €10,000 |
Maximum that First-Time Buyers can pay without support |
€340,000(€300,000 plus €40,000 deposit) |
Affordability gap |
€60,000(€400,000 minus €340,000) |
Outcome |
First Home Scheme can provide €60,000 in return for a 15% equity stake in the property. |
The First Home Scheme can provide a maximum of 30% of the purchase price (20% if the buyer is also using the Help to Buy scheme).
Conditions relating to self-build homes
A self-build home is one that is built on a site by the owner(s) of the site, either through direct labour (self-managed) or a fixed contractor (construction contract). The home must be used as the principal private residence of the owner(s).
The house can be detached or semi-detached and can be single-storey or have multiple floors (subject to planning permission and mortgage approval).
Price (build cost) ceilings apply across each Local Authority area and are reviewed twice annually as with the price ceilings for new builds.
Among the conditions that self-build homes must fulfil are requirements to provide a Certified Build Cost and a Certified Valuation.
Self-build customers will have 12 months from the date of signing the First Home Scheme Customer Contract to draw down the First Home Scheme Equity Facility (subject to meeting all conditions). They will have a further 24 months from the date of drawdown to complete the build of their new home.
Tenant Home Purchase Scheme
The scope of the First Home Scheme was extended in April 2023 to include renters who want to buy their home from a landlord who has indicated a wish to sell and has issued the tenant with a Notice of Termination.
Under the Tenant Home Purchase Scheme, 372 approvals have issued by the end of December 2025, with 210 of these tenants having gone on to complete the acquisition of their homes so far.
Self-Build Scheme
The scope of the First Home Scheme was further extended in September 2023, to include qualifying self-builders who have a site but who may not have sufficient funding to complete the construction of their home when they combine the mortgage available and deposit. This Scheme has seen 180 approvals, with 65 customers drawing down funds as of end December 2025.
KPMG research on impact of First Home Scheme on house price inflation
In order to minimise the risk of price distortions in the First-Time Buyer market, the First Home Scheme introduced the concept of Local Authority Price Ceilings from the outset of the Scheme. This includes a twice-yearly review of price ceilings that apply to Scheme users in individual local authority areas to reflect market conditions.
An additional measure is the commissioning of periodic research by KPMG to assess the extent, if any, to which the First Home Scheme has contributed to house price inflation.
In separate reports in 2024 and 2025, KPMG has concluded there is no evidence to suggest the Scheme has materially contributed to price inflation in new homes. The reports also stated that it remains critical that the First Home Scheme monitors this risk on an ongoing basis, including through regular reviews of its price ceilings, to ensure it does not contribute to new home price growth as uptake of the Scheme grows.
