Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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242. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the immigrant investor programme; and if this is standard procedure. [9036/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that they deal with matters in relation to individual projects directly with the agents concerned. In that regard INIS hosted a stakeholder engagement meeting on 25 February. Over seventy representatives attached to the various projects attended this meeting.

The Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) was introduced in April 2012 to encourage inward investment so as to create business and employment opportunities in the State. There are currently four options for investing, one of which is the endowment of €500,000 (or €400,000 where a group of 5 or more combine to make a large endowment) towards a project of public benefit in the arts, sports, health, cultural or educational field.

Any endowment proposed should be regarded as a philanthropic contribution with a clear public benefit and investors will receive no financial return or recoupment of the principal. When considering endowment applications the independent evaluation committee examines the governance structure of the beneficiary of the funds and a key criteria is whether or not they are a recognised registered charity.