KERRY GAA HAS launched a High Court challenge against the Minister for Justice’s refusal to include its application for the now-defunct Immigrant Investor Programme.

The programme, also known as the ‘Golden Visa Scheme’, allowed people from outside of the European Economic Area to secure immigration permission in Ireland through long-term investment pathways which were pre-approved by the Government.

The scheme was scrapped in February 2023.

In its proceedings, Kerry GAA claims the refusal to include it in the scheme will result in the potential loss of at least €27 million in donations already committed towards the redevelopment of Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.

It further claims that an additional €11.6 million of new donations Kerry GAA has identified, have also been placed in jeopardy by the Minister’s decision.

Kerry GAA’s judicial review action is one of several similar actions brought by voluntary bodies that are pending before the Court.

In its proposal to the court, the country sporting board said before the scheme was scrapped it had submitted proposals in two parts, for administrative purposes, regarding its plans to develop a ‘Centre of Excellence’ and to redevelop Fitzgerald Stadium.

Kerry GAA claims it has been working on this overall project since 2022. The application for the Centre of Excellence submitted before the Government announced that it was to scrap the Golden Visa scheme.

Kerry GAA said that in relation to the application regarding the stadium it had secured a lead investor to donate to a project, under what is known as an Endowment, involved in either the arts, culture, sports, or education in Ireland.

Kerry GAA claims that following the Government’s announcement that it was to to scrap the scheme, it had to rush to submit the second part of its plan, on 15 February 2023.

Its lead investor, it claims, was part of another project but was happy to be the lead investor in relation to the stadium.

In January Kerry GAA said that its application regarding the stadium was refused by the Minister on the grounds that “no valid investor application was submitted” and that application could not be progressed any further.

The Minister’s decision also stated that an investor in the programme “must be new” rather than someone “already connected to another project who wishes to transfer projects”.

Transfers of investors between projects can only occur when there is at least one investor already in place in relation to the receiving project, the decision further added. It claims that the decision was flawed, and should be set aside.

It claims that it is unreasonable, unfair and in breach of its legitimate expectations that the application would be accepted.

Kerry GAA claims in its action that the Minister “moved the goalposts” – as it was the first time in the history of the scheme that this reason was used by the Minister when refusing to include an applicant in the scheme.

In its action against the Minister, Ireland and the Attorney General, Kerry GAA seeks various orders and reliefs including an order quashing the decision, made on 24 January, that its application was not eligible.

It also seeks declarations, including that the decision was made without lawful authority, without jurisdiction, was unreasonable, was contrary to the Irish Constitutional rights and the European Convention on Human Rights regarding Kerry GAA’s right to legitimate expectation.

Kerry GAA further seeks damages to reflect the donations and expenses it incurred which it claims it has lost because of the Minister’s decision. The matter came before Justice Garrett Simons today.

The judge said he had some concerns regarding the application.

Adjourning the application the Judge told Kerry GAA’s lawyers to provide further documentation in support of the application when the matter returns before the Court later this month.

Written by Aodhan O Faolain and posted on TheJournal.ie