An Ennis auctioneer claims the Help to Buy scheme has been of little benefit in Clare due to an ongoing lack of housing supply.
It had been suggested by a number of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil backbenchers that the scheme, which allows first-time buyers to claim up €30,000 or 10% of the value of their home back back through tax, could be extended to second-hand properties.
However, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has confirmed there are no plans to do so and he believes it “could serve to dilute the incentive effect of the measure in terms of encouraging additional supply”.
Diarmuid McMahon of Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon in Ennis says a shortage of news homes on the market has rendered the scheme ineffective in this county.
You can listen to the full interview below.