Peter Fitzpatrick says Louth windfall is on solid ground

Louth GAA say access to an estimated €14.8 million windfall from the Immigrant Investor Programme will not be cut off, despite the Government terminating the cash for visas scheme.

Last week, Minister for Justice Simon Harris announced the closure of the controversial programme from February 15th, 2023.

Louth GAA revealed in October that they were to benefit from 37 foreign donors each pledging €400,000 to fund the construction of the county’s new stadium in Dundalk, for which the donors will receive residency in Ireland.

But on foot of news the scheme was being wound down, there were fears in Louth their arrangement would be impacted. However, county board chairman Peter Fitzpatrick has alleviated those concerns, saying the money for the ground is ‘ring-fenced’ and that Louth last month already received the first of what will be four payments from the programme.

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“Naturally there were people a wee bit worried when they heard the plug was being pulled by the Government on the IIP,” Fitzpatrick told The Irish Times.

“But that commences as and from the 15th of February. If you had your application form in before that and had not signed then you had three months to do so, but we actually had the whole thing signed, sealed and delivered last November. It’s ring-fenced and guaranteed.”

Louth GAA will receive the money in four tranches – the first payment arrived in January, the second is due in March, the third will be in June, with the final – and largest – instalment scheduled for December.

The scheme was established in 2012 to stimulate investment in Ireland that would “be of strategic and public benefit to the State,” according to the Government.

Non-European Economic Area nationals, who could prove a minimum personal net worth of €2 million, have a clean criminal record and not have been convicted of an offence in any jurisdiction, were allowed avail of the programme.

There were four investment options available, one of which was to make a philanthropic donation of at least €400,000 to a project in Ireland which is of public benefit to the arts, sports, health, culture or education sector.

In return, the donor – and their spouse/partner and any children under the age of 18 – could acquire residency status in Ireland. They did not get citizenship, just residency for 24 months, but after the two years they could apply for it to be renewed for a further three.

Over the lifespan of the programme, the vast majority of investors were Chinese citizens. Between 2012-2019, from a total of 1,162 investors, 1,068 were from China. Of the 267 successful investors in 2020, 254 of them were Chinese citizens.

“The entire process has gone through the Department of Justice, it’s all above board, there is an evaluation committee set up by public and private partnerships, and also members of various departments examining and investigating all applications,” added Fitzpatrick.

“It took us two years to get the application done, it is a very long and thorough process, a huge amount of work went in on this. Everything is above board, every penny we spend will be audited.”

Fitzpatrick continues to target the first games taking place in the new stadium as the county finals in September 2024.

A Government statement on the cessation of the IIP confirmed: “The closure of the programme will not affect existing projects or individuals already approved under the programme.

“The Department of Justice will continue to monitor existing approved projects in relation to the delivery and for compliance with the terms of the programme. Current applications on hand at the time of closure will continue to be considered.”

In announcing the decision last week, Minister Harris said: “Since its inception, the programme has brought significant investment to Ireland and has been operated by my department to the highest professional standards.

“However, it is important that we keep all programmes under review including any implications for wider public policy, such as the continuing appropriateness and suitability of this programme for cultural, social and economic use.

“We have also taken on board a number of reports and findings from international bodies such as the EU Commission, Council of Europe and OECD on similar investment programmes.

“Taking all of this into account, and informed by both internal and external reviews, I have recommended that it is now timely to close this programme to new applications.”

Fitzpatrick believes the decision to discontinue the scheme is an error by the Government.

“I was at GAA Congress last week, and a huge number of clubs had been looking to it for investment,” said the Wee County chairman.

“I personally think the Government made a mistake by cancelling the IIP and I hope they have a replacement plan, because it really did help a lot of organisations.”