Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
650. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to non-Irish citizens not qualifying for many of the first-time buyer schemes even if they are buying with an Irish citizen; the schemes that non-Irish citizens are eligible for; if he intends to widen the eligibility to non-Irish citizens for all schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40132/22]
View answerTwo schemes to support home purchases by first-time buyers are provided by my Department: the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme, and also the Local Authority Home Loan. In addition, the recently launched First Home Scheme is administered separately as a joint venture between the State and participating mortgage lenders.
Eligibility for the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme is set under Section 10 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021, which states the requirement that 'each of the persons making the application has a right to reside in the State'. The same requirement is set for the Local Authority Home Loan under the Housing Loans Regulations 2021.
The First Home Scheme does not operate on a statutory basis, but the State has agreed with the participating mortgage lenders that the same eligibility criterion should apply as on my Department's schemes, that an applicant must have a right to reside in the Republic of Ireland.
This is set out in the First Home Scheme brochure at the following link: www.firsthomescheme.ie/media/4nda0lnn/0827-first-homes-brochure_r14.pdf.
As can be seen, this rule does not depend on someone having Irish citizenship, but rather looks at whether someone has a legal right to reside in the State. This is a reasonable requirement, given that these schemes are designed to support people acquiring a home in which to reside.
It should be noted that the Help to Buy incentive is a scheme of the Department of Finance, administered by Revenue.
