Housing minister rejects claim that new First Home Scheme will fuel inflation

Applications for the First Home Scheme opened on Thursday afternoon, with more than 60 reported in the first hour.

Darragh O'Brien said: "We're looking at activating around €75m to €80m in mortgages this year, it's a tiny percentage of the overall market." File photo: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie

The Housing Minister has denied that a new flagship scheme for first-time buyers is designed to get around Central Bank lending rules or would fuel an already overheated market.

Darragh O'Brien on Thursday launched the First Home Scheme, a €400m plan which will see the Government and banks bridge the "existing affordability gap" by providing buyers with part of the purchase price for their home, in return for the scheme taking a minority equity stake.