Immigration Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023

Tuesday, 20 June 2023

Questions (448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

448. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice when the review into the discontinued Immigrant Investor Programme will be completed and published. [29630/23]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

449. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice to list the countries from which non-EU citizens made applications for the discontinued Immigrant Investor Programme; and the number from each country who applied, were granted or refused residency rights along with their spouses and children since its inception in 2012. [29631/23]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

450. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice how many of the successful Immigrant Investor Programme applicants invested the minimum of over €1 million in a business in Ireland, or a minimum of €500,000 in a charity; and how much money was involved annually since the scheme began in 2012. [29632/23]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

451. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice to list the businesses and charities that benefitted from the Immigrant Investor Programme since its inception in 2012 to date. [29633/23]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

452. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice the number of the potential beneficiaries of the Immigrant Investor Programme scheme she met personally in advance of a decision being made on their applications to the scheme, or those who would benefit from same. [29634/23]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

453. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice what exact role she played in overseeing or signing-off on the granting of residency to Immigrant Investment Programme applicants, their spouses and children. [29635/23]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

454. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice the number/percentage of Immigrant Investment Programme applicants who were female. [29636/23]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

455. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice the counties, the businesses and charities which benefitted from investment of funds as a consequence of the Immigrant Investment Programme since its inception in 2012. [29637/23]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I propose to take Questions Nos. 448 to 455, inclusive, together.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Government agreed to close the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) to further applications from 15 February 2023. The IIP Unit has published a FAQ concerning the closure on my Department's website, which will be updated with any further arising questions from the closure, and is available here: www.irishimmigration.ie/faqs-closure-of-the-immigrant-investor-programme-iip/

In 2017 the Irish Government Economics and Evaluation Service (IGEES) completed a systemic review of the IIP and an audit of the Programme completed in 2019 recommended an external review. Following a tender process, an external review was carried out by EY. My Department will shortly publish the reviews onto my Department's website; www.irishimmigration.ie.

I can confirm that I did not meet any applicant to the IIP regarding their IIP application.

All projects in which IIP applicants are investing are examined in detail by an Independent Evaluation Committee comprising officials from my Department, the Department of Finance, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland who have appropriate expertise in this area.

This examination process involves an assessment of the commercial viability of the project; employment outcomes associated with the proposed investment; and the overall benefit to the Irish State. The Committee makes a determination as to whether a project is suitable for IIP investment and if deemed suitable, the individual application will be submitted to the Minister for final approval.

1,788 applications have been successful under the IIP to mid-June 2023 with the value of investments approved almost €1.3bn. The table below provides a breakdown of IIP primary applicants approved by nationality since the inception of the programme to the middle of June 2023. Only very occasionally will the nationality of a dependent family member differ from that of the primary applicant. The vast majority of IIP beneficiaries require a visa to enter the State, with the exception of the USA and South Africa.

Statistics are not maintained in such a way as to provide the information on all IIP residence permissions, as requested by the Deputy.

Nationality	Applications approved
China	1,677
USA	36
Vietnam	14
Rest of the World	61
TOTAL	1,788

The tables below provides a breakdown of IIP applications received, approved and the value of investments since the inception of the programme to 19 June 2023.

Year	Applications received	Approved applications	Value of Approved Investment
2012	5	2	1,500,000
2013	18	16	12,200,000
2014	30	5	2,950,000
2015	75	70	38,300,000
2016	334	33	18,750,000
2017	324	369	250,700,000
2018	423	155	138,750,000
2019	443	237	209,300,000
2020	339	270	188,000,000
2021	258	264	185,700,000
2022	1316	306	205,900,000
2023 YtD (19 June)	1492	61	41,800,000
Total	5057	1788	1,293,850,000

*Approvals issued in any year may relate to applications which were received in previous years due to the time taken to process applications.

Investment Type	Total Applications Approved	Total Value of Investment
Enterprise	901	765,200,000
Investment Fund	247	229,000,000
REIT	6	12,000,000
Endowment	578	233,700,000
Bond & Mixed Investment	56	53,950,000
TOTAL	1788	1,293,850,000

Question No. 449 answered with Question No. 448.

Question No. 450 answered with Question No. 448.

Question No. 451 answered with Question No. 448.

Question No. 452 answered with Question No. 448.

Question No. 453 answered with Question No. 448.

Question No. 454 answered with Question No. 448.

Question No. 455 answered with Question No. 448.