Under 3% of recipients have had to return Help to Buy payment

Under the scheme, a claimant can get relief to the tune of €30,000 or 10% of the market value of a new build property 

Finance minister Paschal Donohoe said that 934 HTB claimants over the last five years did not meet the relevant criteria. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Less than 3% of first-time buyers utilising the Help to Buy (HTB) scheme over the last five years have had to either return the assistance payment or have Revenue claw it back over failing to meet the criteria, the finance minister has said.

The HTB scheme was first introduced in January 2017 in order to help support first-time buyers to either buy a newly-built house or apartment or self build a new home.