Minister Canney welcomes Help to Buy support for more than 2,350 Galway households
Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports and Leader in Cabinet of the Independent Ministers, has welcomed new figures showing that 2,356 Help to Buy claims have been approved in Galway since the scheme was introduced.
The latest figures, covering the period up to the end of July 2026, show that 1,232 approved claims in Galway related to the purchase of newly built homes, while 1,124 supported self-build projects.
Nationally, almost 49,000 Help to Buy claims have now been approved, with 37,983 relating to newly built homes and 10,895 to self-builds.
Minister Canney said the Galway figures demonstrate the important role the scheme is playing in helping first-time buyers towards home ownership.
“These are very positive figures for Galway, with 2,356 Help to Buy claims approved to date. What is particularly notable is the strong take-up across both new home purchases and self-builds, with the figures almost evenly divided between the two.
“For many first-time buyers, getting the deposit together is one of the biggest hurdles they face. Help to Buy provides practical support at that crucial stage and can make a real difference for people trying to buy or build their first home.
“We know that increasing housing supply remains the central challenge and there is much more work to do. Alongside delivering more homes, we need to continue practical supports that help people make the move into home ownership.”
The Help to Buy scheme provides eligible first-time buyers with a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid over the previous four years, worth up to €30,000, to help with the deposit required to purchase or build a new home.
The level of support available is the lesser of €30,000, 10% of the purchase price of the property, or the amount of Income Tax and DIRT paid in the four years before applying.