Over 10,000 buyers across all 26 counties have been approved by the First Home Scheme, new figures show.

The scheme was set up to provide funding to first-time buyers who, despite having a deposit and mortgage approval in place, still could not cover the cost of a new-build home.

In exchange for providing funding, the First Home Scheme takes an equity stake of up to 30% in the home.

The scheme has provided over €350m in support to people who have bought or self-built their homes.

The scheme has published its performance update for the first quarter of this year which shows that 1,037 approvals have taken place in the first three months of the year.

The latest figures show that a total of 5,329 buyers in all 26 counties have already completed the purchase of their home using the Scheme, including people building their own home.

Over 23,000 potential buyers or self-builders have registered their interest in the scheme.

The average purchase price for homes purchased, or build cost for homes built, using the scheme is about €390,000.

The average support being provided by the First Home Scheme in these cases is about €66,000 – or 17% of the average purchase price.

66% of First Home Scheme users are also availing of the Help to Buy scheme.

71% of approvals have been for buyers in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, with the remaining 29% spread across the remaining 21 counties throughout Ireland.

The First Home Scheme’s chief executive Michael Broderick said the continued growth of the scheme is great news for first-time buyers in particular.

“Q1 2026 was also notable given we supported our 5,000th home purchase – a significant milestone which is only achievable through a lot of hard work and support from several stakeholders including the Department of Housing and participating lenders,” the CEO said.

“The success of the scheme is critically important at a time when support for first-time buyers and other buyers is required. I look forward to overseeing further progress this year and beyond,” he added.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne this scheme plays a genuinely essential role in widening access to the housing market and enabling thousands of people to purchase a home for the first time.