New proposals will treat some divorced and separated people, who no longer have a stake in the family home, as first-time buyers.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said housing designed only for nuclear families does not meet “the reality of the world we live in” and the new measures are designed to recognise how “Ireland has changed”.

Mr O’Brien was speaking on the weekend marking 25 years since divorce was legalised, following a 1995 referendum to lift the constitutional ban on the dissolution of marriages.

Divorced and separated people, after they move out of the family home, can often struggle to raise the 20pc deposit required as second-time buyers while paying high rents.

People who end their marriages later in life can also struggle to be considered for a mortgage at all.

Under new plans, set to come into force from April, people who are divorced or separated will be eligible for the state-backed loan schemes.

It is believed this is the first time Irish government housing policy has specifically referenced divorced and separated people.