A Wicklow councillor has expressed disappointment and shock that only 30% of new homes which are part of a council-backed affordable housing scheme in the county are to be reserved for locals.
Thirty-six Wicklow-based homes were made available at 9am in an online application process for first-time buyers from all over Ireland.
The homes are due to be completed in March, and range in price from €222,000 to €252,000.
Independent councillor Joe Behan says councillors were told that 100 applications had been received by the time Wicklow County Council had met this afternoon.
They were originally designed as council houses, but Cllr Behan said it was decided they would be offered for sale under the Affordable Housing Scheme.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Behan welcomed there were "finally some affordable houses available" to buy, but said he was "quite disappointed, dismayed and shocked that the minister intervened to ensure that effectively only 30%, or 11 of the houses, will be reserved for Wicklow applicants".
Mr Behan called on Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien to change how homes under the council's affordable housing scheme are reserved for residents from the county that the houses are being built in.
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He said it was one of the first such schemes rolled-out in the country, that councillors in other counties "might want to take note", and that he thought "it would be far better if the rules were changed".
He also added that it was "inequitable".
"I’m not saying that people from Wicklow should be applying for houses in Kerry. I’m saying that the system is wrong."
He said there is a demand for housing in the greater Dublin area and people will "effectively be jumping the queue on Wicklow residents".
Applicants require documents to prove their eligibility and mortgage approval, with Mr Behan describing the online system as "akin to booking your concert tickets".
He said it is "a crazy way to be dealing with the housing shortage" and that "proper supply" is needed.
"At the end of the day, only 11 houses being built by Wicklow County Council in the county of Wicklow are going to be guaranteed for residents in Co Wicklow. I just think that’s unfair."
Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien has said the way the scheme is being applied is consistent with all local authorities.
"The scheme of priority, or the 70:30, is consistent with all local authorities. It's one that I approved and I think it is absolutely appropriate," he said at a press conference on the First Home Scheme.
"You'll see most people who will be applying be buy homes within Wicklow will be from Wicklow and that is consistent with all of the other schemes and priorities that have been approved across the local authorities," he added.
The minister also said there are a "spread of those local authority led affordable housing schemes right across the country now" which are a "good pipeline" for delivering housing.
