Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senators for their interest in these important immigration initiatives and I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the new programmes and their potential value to the Irish economy and to the Irish immigration system. These programmes have been under development for some time within the Department of Justice and Equality and have been the subject of wide consultation among Departments, State agencies and Ministers.

These new programmes are imaginative, build on the flexibility of our immigration system and have the capacity to deliver badly needed investment to our fragile economy. Nobody should be in any doubt whatsoever about the ultimate objective of these programmes. To put it simply, it is jobs. I mean by that both the protection of existing jobs and, equally, the development of new opportunities. I am glad to able to use our immigration system in a way that can contribute to achieving that overriding objective and to the objective outlined by an Taoiseach of making Ireland the best small country in which to do business.

Before I go into the details of the two new programmes, it would be appropriate to place them in the context of overall Irish immigration policy and the recent developments that have taken place. A look at some of the recent statistics is illuminating. Overall in 2011, approximately 164,000 new applications for visas, residence, protection and citizenship were received by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, the area of my Department with responsibility for immigration in Ireland. Decisions were issued by INIS in almost 178,000 cases, including a proportion of decisions relating to applications submitted in previous years. Over 111,000 new or renewed registrations of permission to remain in the State were issued by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. Provisional figures indicate that approximately 83,000 entry visa applications were processed in 2011, an increase of 8% on 2010. The approval rate for entry visa applications was 91%.

Tourism Ireland has also reported a significant increase in tourist numbers from the new target markets and the number of tourist groups from China more than doubled from July to August 2011 compared to the same period last year. Additionally, a number of Indian and Gulf tour operators have added Ireland to their European itineraries for the first time. The number of non-EEA national students registered to study in the State is approximately 32,500 or 25% of the total number of non-EEA nationals with permission to remain in the State. Broken down by education sector, 37% of students are pursuing higher education - degree programme - study, 29% are taking language courses, 23% further education - non-degree programme - courses and 11% are taking other courses, such as accountancy, or attending secondary school.

These statistics reveal an encouraging perception of Ireland as a desirable destination for tourism, study, residence or to do business. I believe there is considerable scope within the immigration field to contribute to our national recovery through targeted and well managed policies that capitalize on the potential benefits while minimising the possible downsides.

A key initiative already taken is the Irish short-stay visa waiver programme with the UK, which commenced on 1 July 2011, and will run as a pilot until 31 October 2012. Based on the success of the scheme I expect that it will be extended into the future. The programme is designed to boost tourism and business, especially from emerging markets. Extrapolated visa data from the regions in which the waiver programme operates indicate that visitor numbers from the countries concerned significantly increased.

At the other end of the immigration journey is the hugely successful citizenship ceremony which for the first time ever marks the grant of citizenship with an occasion befitting its importance to the recipient and to us as the host nation. I have argued for the instigation of such ceremonies for many years and I am particularly pleased that within weeks of my appointment as Minister I was in a position to host the first of these great ceremonies in Dublin Castle. Over the course of two days last week, in Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines, more than 2,250 candidates for citizenship from 110 countries across five continents were formally welcomed as citizens of Ireland. It was a proud and moving moment for everybody involved and these ceremonies are also in their own way helping to restore our sense of what is good about being Irish. The pride of those new citizens in their Irishness was clearly visible in their faces as they stood proudly facing the tricolour during the playing of our national anthem by the Army Band.

Citizenship has been always a particular priority of mine. On taking up office, I immediately initiated steps within my Department to deal with the huge backlog of citizenship applications. More than 16,000 applications were dealt with in 2011, more than double the number dealt with in 2010. Since the start of this year I have made determinations on almost 3,000 applications. It is expected that the current backlog will be substantially dealt with in the next couple of months, after which the objective is that, save in exceptional circumstances, persons applying for citizenship will be given a decision on their application within six months.

On 24 January I announced that the Government had approved two new proposals which I had brought to the Cabinet table and which are designed to stimulate investment and enterprise in Ireland by suitable qualified foreign nationals. Of course, as I said at the outset, the scheme is designed to protect and create employment as overriding objectives. I take this opportunity to emphatically refute any suggestions that these new programmes are a return of the discredited so-called passports-for-sale scheme in a different guise. Any suggestions to this effect are completely wide of the mark and anybody who takes the trouble to read about the programmes and the conditions attaching to them will establish that very quickly. It is straightforward. The programmes have been designed to facilitate legal residence in Ireland for persons who have the potential to contribute to our economy through appropriate investments and enterprise proposals. The objective will be to select only those proposals that will be of economic benefit to the State. Successful applicants will be able to apply for citizenship only under the terms of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts, in the same way and under the same terms as all other non-Irish nationals residing in the State.

I will now outline the criteria for both programmes. The immigrant investor programme is designed to attract individuals with a proven record of success in business and enterprise, and offer an opportunity to invest in and relocate to the State. A range of investment options are provided for, with different thresholds applied depending on the nature of the investment as follows. There can be a once off endowment of a minimum of €500,000 to a project with a clear public benefit in areas such as arts, sports or education. The endowment will not provide any return for the investor nor will it be recoupable.

There can be minimum €2 million investment in the designated Irish Government immigrant investor bond. The investment is to be held for a minimum of five years. My officials are currently negotiating with the National Treasury Management Agency on the development of a suitable low-interest investment product.

There can be venture capital funding of a minimum of €1 million into an Irish business for a minimum of three years. An investment into an Irish publicly quoted company could be considered but the investment level in that context might need to be higher.

There can be a mixed investment of a minimum of €1 million with 50% in property and 50% in Government securities. Special consideration could be given to those purchasing properties in the State, which have been enforced by NAMA. In such cases a single €1 million investment in property might be sufficient. There is a clear public interest in NAMA being able to realise assets that have now been vested in it in circumstances in which persons who use those assets to secure loans are no longer capable of meeting their obligations.

As the second leg of the proposed programme, the start-up visa programme recognises the need to foster start-up enterprises in priority innovation sectors of the economy. The existing business permission scheme is insufficient to support such business proposals and a more flexible approach has been developed in consultation with Enterprise Ireland, which has extensive experience of such schemes in other jurisdictions. To qualify an applicant must have some form of financial backing of not less that €75,000 through business angels, venture capital providers or a financial institution regulated by the Financial Regulator - personal funding transferred to the State or a grant from a relevant State agency might be also acceptable; the applicant must not be a drain on public funds; and, most importantly, the business must have a strong innovation component. This will be assessed by the evaluation committee.

Applications for both programmes will be on a prescribed form and will be accompanied by a fee to offset the costs of administering the schemes and to deter frivolous applications. Candidates will be also required to submit a comprehensive business plan detailing their planned investments and to provide evidence of sufficient funds.

Both programmes will be subject to the approval of an evaluation committee composed of suitably qualified and experienced people from relevant Departments and State agencies. The evaluation committee will be the key to the assessment process and it demonstrates a joined-up Government approach to capitalise on the expertise that exists in the wider public service. As well as from my Department, the evaluation committee will consist of representation from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Finance, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland.

The committee will be also able to call on expertise from the wider public service should the need arise in evaluating proposals which, for example, relate to the educational, health or tourism areas. For example, if a proposal is made in the area of the provision of health-care facilities, an appropriate expert from the Department of Health would join the committee to assess the application and ensure it is fully and properly evaluated. The purpose of the committee will be to adjudicate on the legitimacy of the candidate and his or her investment as well as the viability of the business proposal. The first job of the committee will to adopt and publish a code of practice which will underpin the integrity of the process and ensure the schemes operate in an open and transparent manner.

Successful applicants ordinarily will be granted residence permission for five years, which will be reviewed after two years to ensure the original investment remains in place and that the general terms on which the permission was granted continue to be met. Family reunification will be permitted for spouses, partners and children provided that family needs are met from the resources of the entrepreneur or investor, or other private means. No access to State benefits will be permitted during this period.

The evaluation process goes well beyond just looking at the investment. International best practice will be followed. Normal security checks will be applied, including international police co-operation. The participants must be of good repute and must be also able to satisfy the immigration authorities as to the provenance or origins of their funds. The applicant will be required to swear an affidavit attesting to character and the source of his or her funds. It will be made clear that false statements will void any permission granted.

The initiatives we are implementing are not unique internationally. There is significant competition among migrant destination states to attract migrant investors and entrepreneurs. Many are motivated by the experience of Canada, where there was a significant influx of wealthy people of Chinese origin from Hong Kong in the early and mid-1990s before the hand-over of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Today, countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have sophisticated schemes in place to attract the interest of investors and entrepreneurs.

An overseas investor who acquires an Irish centre of interest can make an economic contribution far above and beyond his or her initial investment. If such persons move to Ireland, transfer their wealth and relocate business interests, the potential benefit is considerable. It also brings intellectual capital and business acumen. In addition where a number of investors come from the same country this in itself can create an investment and business community with links to their country of origin.

Work is under way in my Department on the implementation of the two programmes. I intend to launch the programme formally in mid-March at which time appropriate guidelines and application forms will be available. I expect that applications will be accepted shortly thereafter. It is not possible at present to gauge the possible interest in both programmes and I will offer no hostages to fortune in this regard but I remain optimistic for their potential. Since the initial announcement made with regard to the programmes, inquiries have already been made to my Department about the exact start up date and seeking details of them. We will continue to meet and engage in dialogue with individuals who may have the resources to locate in Ireland in the context of the programme being proposed to the benefit of people who reside here in the context of the possibility of providing jobs or engaging in innovative business programmes.

In putting together these programmes I have made reference to the extensive discussions that took place. At the early stages we engaged in discussions with Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, the National Treasury Management Agency and NAMA. All of these bodies envisage substantial benefits to the State by these programmes being put in place and up and running. I am very optimistic about the impact they will have in the coming 12 months or two years.