Applications for the new 'Help-to-Buy' scheme are now open.

However, Fianna Fáil Finance Spokesperson Michael McGrath, said the new scheme on house prices will have to be "carefully monitored" as part of an independent impact assessment due to be completed by the end of September 2017.

He said: "During the course of the passage of the Finance Bill, we made our view clear that an independent impact assessment of the 'Help-to-Buy' scheme should have been carried out before the scheme was introduced. History has taught us that any intervention in the property market has to be based on detailed analysis, but this has not been done in respect of this scheme.

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"However, we secured a commitment from Minister Noonan that such an independent assessment would be completed by 30 September 2017 and that this would assess the impact of the scheme on house prices, the supply of new homes and the property market generally.

"This assessment will be carried out independently of the Department of Finance and we very much look forward to its completion later this year. This impact assessment will need to answer the key question as to whether the 'Help-to-Buy' scheme is pushing up new house prices."

(CD/MH)