First-time buyers to get up to €10k tax back

First-time buyers are to get up to €10,000 in a tax rebate as part of Government plans to reheat the property market.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney said the grant would only be paid to those buying new homes and said the Help to Buy package, to be announced in the budget, would help tackle the housing crisis in Cork and Dublin.

It is unlikely that the State will take equity in homes under the buyer aid scheme, as operates in Britain.