Threshold for first-time buyers to avail of First Home Scheme is raised in Louth
19 January 2023
PRESS RELEASE
19.1.23
Threshold for first-time buyers to avail of First Home Scheme is raised in Louth
First-time homebuyers in Louth who were effectively shut out of the Government’s First Home Scheme will now be able to access help to buy their first home, following representations from local Labour TD, Ged Nash.
Deputy Nash argued that the previous €300,000 threshold to qualify for the scheme was shutting out first-time buyers in Drogheda who found it impossible to buy a family home for that price.
He argued strongly for a raising of the limit and recently raised the issue in the Dáil with the Minister for Housing.
Following that exchange, the Minister for Housing has now confirmed to Deputy Nash that a review of the scheme’s threshold limits has been carried out and the threshold for first-time buyers is being raised in Louth to €375,000.
Deputy Nash says: “Louth has two housing markets, with prices much higher in Drogheda and South Louth, compared with Dundalk. First-time buyers were struggling to find appropriate properties in the area for less than the €300,000 threshold and were effectively shut out of the First Home Scheme.
“Young couples looking to establish their first family home in Drogheda while staying in the area they grew up in, were being failed by the First Home Scheme and were forced into the rental sector.”
The Louth Labour TD adds: “I argued strongly and consistently for a raising of the threshold in the county, particularly in the Drogheda Urban and rural Local Electoral Areas to give our first-time buyers a fighting chance of securing a family home.”
Deputy Nash says: “Prices might be showing signs of moderation or stabilisation at least, but there is a long way to go until such time as supply meets demand, making homes more affordable.
“There are many problems with initiatives like the First Home Scheme, not least of which is the economic argument that schemes like this end up driving house prices up and effectively subsidise development.
However, with the scheme in place, with all its flaws, it needs to work better for local first-time buyers and I’m glad the government has listened and decided to raise the local threshold for the scheme.”
ENDS