Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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57. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the increasing income requirement for retirees living here; the further reason for the change from stamp 3 to stamp 0 for Americans retiring to Ireland; if she will make an exception for American nationals looking to retire here, acknowledging the historic and important relationship between American and Ireland; and if she will restore the status quo ante for Irish-Americans. [18588/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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All States, including Ireland, operate immigration controls for well established reasons of public policy, including consideration of the economic impacts for the State. To this end policies regarding all non-nationals wishing to enter the State are kept under review and revised from time to time. As outlined in previous responses for Parliamentary Questions, I requested officials in the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department to review the current policy position regarding the migration of non-EEA retirees to Ireland. That review is underway. As part of the review process there will be a public consultation which will seek the views of stakeholders in relation to the review's recommendations.

Pending that, the current policy remains in force. The criteria for persons wishing to retire in the state was reviewed in 2014 and a notice was placed on the website www.inis.gov.ie in March 2015 aimed at clarifying and standardising the terms and conditions in respect of applications from retired foreign nationals seeking to come and live in Ireland. The key financial consideration in respect of a retiree is that the person must have sufficient and sustainable resources to ensure that they will not now, nor in the future become a burden on the State. This is a fair and reasonable expectation on the part of the State and, in the case of retirees, the income level was set at €50,000 per person per annum. The applicant would also be expected to have a lump sum significant enough to cater for unforeseen circumstances, for example, health care and possible nursing home care in the future.