Revenue will investigate real estate agents who attempt to "scam" the Help to Buy (HTB) scheme, the minister for housing has warned.

It comes after estate agents Sherry FitzGerald reportedly told a couple the price of a home had been split in two payments in order to bypass rules of the subsidy scheme.

The HTB scheme offers first-time buyers the chance to claim back €30,000 from their income tax on properties where the value is above what they can afford under Central Bank lending rules, but only on properties valued at €500,000 or less.

According to reports, a Limerick estate agent offered to split the cost of a property valued at €525,000 in two – a €500,000 payment for the house and an extra €25,000 in "flooring costs". This allowed the couple to avail of the HTB scheme under a falsified home value of €500,000, the Irish Times reported last week.

On Sunday, Minister James Browne warned: "Anybody scamming that system, Revenue Commissioners are going to investigate that because that is a scam."

He added that splitting of house prices to bypass the cap was "absolutely unacceptable". "It is outside of the terms of that agreement," he told RTÉ’s The Week In Politics. The Fianna Fáil TD warned that "people are taking very high risks in terms of effectively defrauding the system".

The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) has said it has the power to issue minor and major sanctions, including suspensions and fines, to people attempting to bypass the HTB cap.

The PSRA told the Irish Examiner it encourages "first-time buyers who are approached by estate agents to enter into this practice to make a complaint to the PSRA".

Following the report, a Sherry FitzGerald spokeswoman told the Irish Times: "At this point, we believe that this is an isolated incident relating to a single property."

She confirmed Sherry FitzGerald would be launching a formal investigation into the matter, adding: "Following the conclusion of our investigation, we will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that such a situation cannot occur again."

In the first four months of the year, 17,144 applications were received for the HTB scheme. There were 5,000 more than in the same period of 2024. Minister Browne also responded to concerns surrounding decreases in employment in the construction sector.

The Business Post reported yesterday that construction firm MKN Property Group has cut more than half its workforce because it has "run out of work".

Labour housing spokesman Conor Sheehan said: "We have apprentices at the moment who are still on sub-minimum wage... We need to do a huge job in workforce planning, in terms of scaling up the construction industry."

Browne called the issue a "funny balance", saying: "If you increase pay too much you will end up with less apprentices."

Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin housing spokesman, told the minister: "The problem isn’t a skills shortage, it’s how you’re handling this."

Minister Browne also fielded questions on the limitations of Uisce Éireann. The utility provider has repeatedly warned it does not have the capacity to connect proposed housing projects to the water pipeline.

Minister Browne was asked why Uisce Éireann has no statutory obligation to provide water infrastructure for new housing projects.

Rory Hearne, Social Democrats housing spokesman, called for statutory guidelines to be provided to Uisce Éireann, saying: "The government has to give them that, in terms of actually saying they have a responsibility as well."

The minister responded: "There is no point in having statutory guidelines if a body doesn’t actually have the capacity to do so; what we’re doing is actually giving them the capacity.

"We’re going to give them more funding specifically ringfenced to deliver the housing infrastructure we need".

Minister Browne was reluctant to give more details on the funding other than saying specifications would appear in the National Planning Framework, the National Development Plan and his own housing plan. He wouldn’t give a timeline but insisted it would be new money not previously announced.

Photo: James Browne. (Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos)