The Minister for Finance is being urged to withdraw the government's Help to Buy Scheme and invest €50 million in the housing crisis.

Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD made the call to Minister Michael Noonan after changes to the mortgage rules by the Central Bank have "torpedoed" the scheme.

Deputy Doherty said: "The scheme was already in serious trouble with the government having to accept a review in a year's time. Today, that review and the whole scheme have been made completely redundant.

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"The Government has repeatedly made it clear that the rationale for such a scheme was to assist first time buyers reaching the minimum deposit required under the central bank rules.

"Until now, a first time buyer purchasing a €400,000 house was required to have a deposit of €58,000. The governments help to buy scheme reduced this amount to €38,000.

"However, changes made by the Central Bank today have reduced the deposit required on a €400,000 house for a first time buyer to €40,000 making the government’s scheme unnecessary.

"If the Government was to continue with this scheme, it would simply reduce the savings required so that a buyer would only need at most 5% of the mortgage. That would bring us dangerously close to a return to 100% mortgages which is in nobody’s interest and would have the effect of driving up house prices.

"The Government needs to realise that the ground has shifted and their help to buy scheme is now more dangerous than ever."

(CD/MH)