Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 512: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the individual beneficiaries of the passport for investment scheme; the years they benefited; and the specific grounds on which they received passports. [35772/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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A total of 107 primary investors, together with 76 spouses and minor children, were naturalised under the investment-based naturalisation scheme between 1989 and 2004.

It has been the practice of successive Ministers for Justice not to publish details of individual naturalisation cases other than those which are required by law, that is, the publication in Iris Oifigiúil of the name and address of the applicant, the date naturalised and whether he or she was an adult or minor. This policy is in place for a very good reason and I do not intend to depart from it. Applicants linked to investments and for that matter all applicants have an expectation that there will be no additional form of publicity about their applications other than that which is prescribed by law.

As the Deputy will be aware, the investment-based naturalisation scheme was abolished in April 1998 and in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004, I introduced provisions to ensure that this scheme would not be reinstituted and to rule out any future such scheme.