Barry Cowen calls for independent review of Help-to-Buy Scheme

Fianna Fáil's Spokesperson on Housing Barry Cowen is calling for an independent review of the Help-to-Buy Scheme to be carried out.

He says the latest figures from the CSO, which show that residential property prices rose by almost 11% in the year to February, is bad news for the Government.

"We had said before the introduction of the Help-to-Buy Scheme that there should have been an impact assessment carried out to prove that what others were saying - much more qualified that I - that this would indicate and this would prove that prices would rise sharply.

"That's where we're at now.

"This information tells us that it's bad news for the Government in terms of house prices, bad news for the Government and the tax-payer considering this is costing a significant amount of money and not having the desired effect."