The government has changed the rules for its proposed first-time buyers' scheme.

It's lowered the minimum amount that buyers will have to borrow, but hasn't changed the maximum price of houses that will qualify.

When the first-time buyers' scheme was announced on Budget Day, the government said buyers would have to borrow at least 80 per cent of the purchase price in order to qualify.

That means anyone who had saved up a deposit of over 20 per cent was NOT entitled to the tax break.

But the Central Bank is reported to have weighted in on the scheme - with stats claiming that the average first-time buyer has 22 per cent saved up in a deposit.

The bank believed that this could result in property hunters borrowing money money than they need to, simply to qualify for the scheme - and house prices could go up in the meantime.

Under the Finance Bill 2016, published today, buyers will now be able to qualify for the scheme if they have deposits of up to 30 per cent, not just 20 per cent.

However the changes have been rubbished by Sinn Féin, which says a saver capable of building up a 30 per cent deposit should not also be given a tax break worth up to €20,000.

Finance spokesman Pearse Doherty says the scheme should now be abandoned entirely:

Elsewhere the upper cap for the tax refund is unchanged - and it can still be claimed by first-time buyers buying a home worth up to €600,000.

But that ceiling could be lowered when the bill starts its journey through the Dáil next Tuesday.

Fianna Fáil has indicated it wants the cap lowered to €400,000, though Fine Gael has rejected this on the basis that it would create a "cliff" where first-time buyers in certain parts of Dublin could not access the scheme.