Cash For Visas
It was supposed to attract hundreds of millions of euro in foreign investment into the state - and it did. But the Immigrant Investor Programme is now coming under fire from all sides, with fears being voiced that it is creating hardly any jobs and could push up property prices even further. Jack Horgan-Jones and Francesca Comyn report
It was early February 2017, and Noel Waters, the top civil servant in the Department of Justice, was feeling pleased with his work.
This was nine months before he would leave his job, another casualty of the Maurice McCabe scandal. But at the time, he was glowing with pride at how effective his Department’s cash-for-visa scheme was proving.
“This programme which I dreamt up in my time as head of INIS [the Irish Naturalisation...
Subscribe from just €1 for the first month!
Exclusive offers:
All Digital Access + eReader
Trial
€1
Unlimited Access for 1 Month
*New subscribers only
Annual
€200
€149 For the 1st Year
Unlimited Access for 1 Year
Quarterly
€55
€42
90 Day Pass
2 Yearly
€315
€248
Unlimited Access for 2 Years
Team Pass
Get a Business Account for you and your team
Related Stories
Analysis: Lockdown fatigue grows but majority do not want to ease restrictions
Some 85 per cent of the public say current response to Covid-19 is either appropriate or does not go far enough
Comment: How the FAI could have avoided the lasting damage of Videogate
In any potential crisis, speed, sincerity, and ownership of the facts are all key, yet another important element is ensuring the tone of the response is proportionate
Latest lockdown news is deflating for everyone, but there is an end in sight
People are frustrated by the continuing level 5 restrictions and fear of another lost summer, but the vaccine rollout is gathering pace
Colin Murphy: In law, we are closer to house arrest than a 5km limit
Covid-19 restrictions say you should not leave home at all ‘without reasonable excuse’ – a rule that‘s broader than it need be, is widely misunderstood and of dubious effectiveness
