Sinn Fein has raised serious concerns over the Help to Buy scheme.

Over two thirds of applicants who successfully claimed under the scheme were in a position to pay the 90% deposit without the help of the scheme, according to new figures.

Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD also said the fact that over 2,000 applicants had been received to date calls into serious question the projected cost of the scheme.

Deputy Doherty said: "Sinn Fein opposed the Help to Buy scheme pointing out that the evidence for its necessity didn't exist and that it would simply run up house prices. Unfortunately, it appears that has turned out to be the case.

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"These figures on the Help to Buy are concerning on two fronts. Firstly, they show that only 30% of the successful claimants to date had a loan to value mortgage of 90% or more. So in reality, 70% of the people who have benefitted were in a position to meet the deposit requirement without the help of the scheme.

"There were 2,196 applicants in the first month of the scheme which included retrospective applications from June to December 2016. If all these applicants were successful and claimed the full €20,000 available, the scheme would have already cost €43,920,000. The Budget predicted a cost of €50m this year and €40m for the next years. Although it is early days, the signs are that this scheme could turn into a runaway cost."

(CD/LM)