Troy welcomes two year extension of First Home Scheme

Local Fianna Fáil Minister Robert Troy has welcomed confirmation from his party colleague and Minister for Housing James Browne that the Government has extended the First Home Scheme to June 2027, and committed a further €30m to the Scheme.

The First Home Scheme, which launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme, designed to help bridge the gap for eligible first-time buyers, eligible homebuyers, and self-builders, between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home, within price ceilings established across the country.

Use of the scheme amongst first time buyers increased significantly in Q1 2025 as reflected in the number of new applications to the scheme (858 up 49% on Q4 2024) and approvals (727 up 51% on Q4 2024).

"Today's extension of the First Home Scheme is good news for first-time buyers in Westmeath. Everybody should be able to afford their one home and the scheme is one of the Government initiatives in place to make that possible.

"The scheme has proved essential to helping first time buyers to bridge the gap between the mortgage available, their deposit, and the price of a home. There have been over 6,700 applicants approved for funding since the scheme launched.

“The additional funding and extension for two years is hugely welcome and I with my colleagues in Fianna Fáil and in Government will continue to be relentless in supporting and implementing schemes and policy measures to make home ownership a reality for everyone," Minister Robert Troy said.

The additional €30m funding announced today will bring the total State commitment to the Scheme to €370 million. This will be matched 50:50 by the participating banks, and will bring the total commitment to the scheme to €740 million.