Government working on scheme to allow Americans retire in Ireland

Plans by the Government to offer US citizens the opportunity to retire in Ireland will boost attempts to get US immigration reforms that will benefit Irish people who want to live there, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar will say this weekend.

In 2018, the Government announced the Ireland-USA Diaspora Retiring to Ireland programme that would have offered residency visas to Americans aged between 55 and 75.

Then, it had been hoped that the offer would be a quid pro quo for the E3 Visa Bill that was before the US Congress, but both plans stalled when a congressional majority could not be secured.

However, the Irish offer has now been revived. And Mr Varadkar will tell the biennial convention of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians in Pittsburgh this weekend.

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The Irish offer will “help us to continue to make the case” for US immigration reform that could benefit “young people who would like to work in United States and undocumented Irish already in the US. We know these talks are ongoing in the US Senate about a possible immigration package being unveiled before the end of the year,” Mr Varadkar is expected to say.

US beneficiaries would, under the arrangements previously, be entitled to bring accompanying spouses, to work 20 hours per week, undertake voluntary work and study in Ireland, though full private health insurance would be required.

US-Ireland links

Mr Varadkar recently met president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Danny O’Connell in Dublin about the proposed programme.

“Work is already progressing on how the details of the scheme will work,” the Tánaiste will tell the Pittsburgh gathering of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, one of the oldest Irish-American organisations.

Emphasising the importance of the ties between the US and Ireland, especially set against a backdrop of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, Mr Varadkar will say: “This vital relationship needs to remain strong. Our friends and allies in Washington have stood behind us and have not faltered when it comes to protecting the Northern Ireland protocol and the Good Friday agreement.”

Meanwhile, Mr O’Connell told The Irish Times that his organisation had originally proposed the retire-in-Ireland measures “because they make economic sense” and would “keep ties vibrant”.

“Irish people know how vital support from Irish American politicians has been on issues like the NI protocol and the Good Friday Agreement. Implementing these measures helps us keep those support levels high in Washington,” he said.