Joan Burton to consider grants proposals for first-time home buyers
Grants of between €3,000 and €5,000 would be given to buyers, many of whom may be finding it difficult to raise 20% deposits under new banking rules.
Labour TD Joe Costello said the initiative was needed as young buyers could not raise these funds and were trapped paying sky-high rents.
Mr Costello outlined his plans at this week’s Labour parliamentary party meeting. He said the idea would also help the construction industry, as well as first-time buyers who are finding it hard to get mortgages.
The grant system had already operated under local authorities up until 2002, he told RTÉ.
His proposal comes after new rules announced recently by the Central Bank, which require homeowners to have up to 20% of a home’s cost for a deposit.
“It would certainly help to deal with the situation in relation to the 20%, which is the cap that has been put on and has worked reasonably well in stabilising prices,” said the Dublin Central TD, adding that grants could be between €3,000 and €5,000.
Ms Burton’s spokesman said the proposals would be examined if and when they were discussed with her. “It will be looked at and considered,” he said.
However, it also remains unclear whether the Government would want to effectively write cheques for homebuyers that could in turn push up house prices even more. This could fuel property prices and undermine recent rules introduced to cool the property market.
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