First Home Scheme passes 10,000 approvals with almost one in five in Cork

Scheme aids first-time buyers who have a deposit and mortgage approval but still can't cover the cost of a new-build home

The increase in the cap for the First Home scheme in Cork county to €450,000 in July has been a very welcome development, say property commentators.

Almost one in five approvals for the Government’s First Home Scheme has come from Cork, figures released on Monday show.

The scheme has approved 10,045 applications since its was first created in July 2022, with 17% of those approvals for buyers in Cork, according to the Department of Housing.

The Scheme was set up under the Government’s Housing Plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities’ to provide funding to first-time buyers who have a deposit and mortgage approval but still can't 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. Some 5,329 buyers in the State have already completed the purchase of their home using the scheme.

In Q1 2026, 1,037 buyers have been approved. Overall, the scheme has provided over €350m in support to people who have bought or self-built their homes since its creation.

The average purchase price nationally for homes purchased, or build cost for homes built, using the scheme is €390,000, with the average support provided through the First Home Scheme in these cases €66,000 - this amounts to 17% of the average purchase price.

71% of approvals have been for buyers in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Meath, and Wicklow, with the remaining 29% spread across 21 counties throughout Ireland. One in four of all approvals were for homes in Dublin. 

House price ceilings

In Cork City Council areas, the price ceiling to buy a house, an apartment, or for a self-build using the scheme is €500,000. This is also the price ceiling in Dublin and in Wicklow. In Cork County Council areas the price ceiling is €450,000, while in Kerry, the price ceiling is €475,000, Clare €375,000, Limerick €425,000, Waterford €400,000, and Tipperary €375,000.

“Q1 2026 was notable given we supported our 5,000th home purchase – a significant milestone which is only achievable through a lot of hard work and support from several stakeholders including the Department of Housing and participating lenders," said First Home Scheme chief executive Michael Broderick.

The First Home Scheme is a joint venture between the State and three banks: AIB (including subsidiaries EBS and Haven), Bank of Ireland, and PTSB, though it remains open to other authorised mortgage lenders in the Irish market to join the scheme.

The scheme can provide a maximum of 30% of the purchase price or 20% if the buyer is also using the Help to Buy scheme. 

Scope of scheme extended

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, 419 approvals have issued by the end of March 2026, with 238 of these tenants having gone on to complete the acquisition of their homes so far.

The First Home Scheme was also 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 205 of these approvals, with 84 customers drawing down funds as of end March 2026.

Housing minister James Browne TD said the First Homes Scheme is playing a "genuinely essential role in widening access to the housing market and enabling thousands of people to purchase a home for the first time".