€300,000 threshold effectively excludes many Drogheda first-time buyers from scheme
Labour Deputy Ged Nash has said that the threshold for first-time buyers in the Drogheda area in relation to the government’s ‘First Home’ scheme should be brought in line with Meath where the threshold is set at €350,000.
“I have raised this with the Minister for Housing” he said. “The fact of the matter is with the threshold for Louth set at €300,000 the scheme effectively excludes first time buyers from access in terms of a new-build in Drogheda, Co. Louth. It is proving difficult for many first-time buyers to identify appropriate new-builds below that price in Drogheda.
“Louth has two housing markets with prices much higher in Drogheda and South Louth compared with Dundalk.
“I have argued that the €350,000 threshold for Meath should be applied to the Drogheda Urban and Rural LEAs to give local first-time buyers a chance.
“Prices might be showing signs of moderation or stabilisation at least, but there is a long way to go until such time as supply meets demand, making homes more affordable.
“There are many problems with schemes like this, most notably the economic argument of the deadweight effect where schemes like this end up simply driving up prices and effectively subsidising development that would have happened in any case.
“Regardless of all of this, the scheme is now in place, with all of its flaws and it needs to work better for local would-be homeowners.
“The government needs to change the threshold on house prices for the Drogheda area and to do so soon.”
