Soundy feels he is on a roll here with other SF/IRA scum supporting him.
If only it was something of relevance from a reputable media source rather than the absolute shit source that it is, The Ditch FFS
How about this one? Or will The Village not count as journalists either
"Former Fine Gael TD and councillor in County Meath, J V Farrelly, has confirmed that a charity of which he is a founder and director purchased a nursing home last year with the help of €1.6 million in Chinese funding obtained through the, now discredited, Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP). Mr Farrelly was among the owners of the nursing home before it was purchased by the charity. Mr Farrelly is also registered with the IIP at the Department of Justice as a lobbyist for Chinese investment. The ‘visa for investment’ scheme, which was abruptly closed in February over concerns about the source and distribution of some of the €1.2 billion in cash it has raised, is run by the Department of Justice and
supervised by Farrelly’s close political ally in Meath East, the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD.
JV Farrelly
Mr Farrelly confirmed to
Village that the charity, Kilmainhamwood Area Development Association (KADA) had
received funds from Chinese investors in order to purchase the nursing home at Kilmainhamwood, Kells, County Meath. However, he could not identify them.
“I’ve no idea who they are. I wasn’t dealing with them,” he said. “We found them through a solicitor. They were Chinese people. I don’t know them”.
When it was put to him that he is politically “closely associated with the Minister” who is responsible for authorising IIP applicants and asked whether he had had any discussions with her or officials of the Department (in relation to the application under the IIP scheme), he replied:
“This discussion is over”.
On Friday 9 June,
Village asked the Department the following questions:
• Whether there been any contact during her time in office between the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, and the directors of Kilmainhamwood Area Development Association (KADA) or any person associated or working on its behalf, concerning an application under the Immigrant Investment Programme?
• Whether Helen McEntee approved an application by KADA or any associated persons or vehicle for investment in purchasing a nursing home at Kilmainham, Co Meath, during her time in office?
• Whether the Minister had any discussions with J V Farrelly in respect of such an investment under the Immigrant Investment Programme?
• Whether her departmental officials were lobbied by Mr Farrelly concerning the nursing home or any other matter during her time in office?
In response, Village was informed that “The Department does not comment on individual applications to the IIP”.
Farrelly has been registered as a lobbyist with the Department of Justice since 2016 on behalf of a company which has promoted the IIP scheme for potential investors. His application stated that Mr Farrelly was “looking for approval of the investment opportunity for the Chinese applicants which would result in them being approved for a 5 year visa”.
In 2022, the funding from Chinese investors financed the purchase by KADA, a registered charity, of the nearby Mowlam Nursing Home, in Kilmainham Wood, County Meath. Farrelly is a founder of KADA and was also an investor, with nine others, in the nursing home from its establishment in 2000 and before its recent acquisition by the charity. According to one director of KADA, the investment by the Chinese donors amounted to some €1.6 million. Peadar Fitzgerald, a consultant on social housing, who recently joined the board, also insisted that the
KADA directors were aware of Mr Farrelly’s part ownership of the nursing home before its acquisition by the charity. He said the charity intended to reburbish and extend the 36-bed nursing home and that it had applied to build 10 social housing units on the site of the retirement village run by KADA.
Kilmainhamwood Nursing Home
“I believe the investment was something in the region of €1.6 million. It was used to purchase the nursing home. The directors of KADA were aware that Mr Farrelly was the owner of the nursing home along with a number of other shareholders in a tax scheme“, said Fitzgerald, who provides consultancy to KADA on a voluntary basis. He said it was his understanding that there was a charge against Farrelly as a result of his bank debts which he may have cleared when the nursing home was sold to KADA. Farrelly has also confirmed that there was a charge against his shareholding in the nursing home. The nursing home is managed by Mowlam Healthcare, which was purchased by investment fund, Cardinal Capital, in 2020.
KADA operates a retirement village with over 30 residents, many of whom own their homes, and a day-care centre for residents and others from the locality, which is located close to the nursing home. KADA received a capital grant of over €1.9 million from Meath County Council in 2020 and also obtains annual funding from the HSE.
Farrelly is a former Fine Gael TD for Meath East and was recently appointed chairperson of the Strategy Committee for the party’s constituency organisation. He is a close political advisor to Helen McEntee who was appointed justice minister in 2020 and had responsibility for endorsing applicants to the IIP scheme. It attracted over €1.25 billion since 2012 before it was suddenly closed in February 2023. An audit of the controversial programme has suggested that there were concerns within the Department about the lack of security vetting of Chinese donors but there are also questions to be asked about many in business and charitable enterprises in Ireland that have been rewarded financially by its operation. At the time of the award to Farrelly’s charity, the scheme was under intense scrutiny and the subject of an, as yet, unpublished review which eventually led to its closure. It would be surprising if McEntee and her officials were not aware of the sensitivity of this particular application.
The programme granted residency rights to non-EU citizens, their spouse and children under 18 if they invested a minimum €1 million in a business in Ireland or provided an endowment of up to €500,000 to a social cause or charity. Nursing homes, hotels, social housing, universities, and even a rugby club across Ireland have benefited from the scheme. The investors must prove they have a net worth of €2 million in order to avail of the scheme but fears have been raised that some applicants, who must reside in Ireland for at least one day a year, may not have been adequately vetted before obtaining residency.
In 2016, Farrelly registered as a lobbyist for IIP investment from China on behalf of Vesada Private Ltd with an address at Fitzwilliam Hall, Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin. The directors of Vesada were listed by the Company Registration Office in 2021 as Frank Clinton of Mullingar, County Westmeath and Desmond Connolly of Clondalkin in Dublin. The company has developed social housing projects in Dublin, Westmeath and County Mayo as well as hotels, student apartments and holiday homes. Mr Clinton informed
Village that he had not been in contact with Farrelly since former director, Richard Heaney of Castletown, Navan, left the company several years ago. He said he originally was introduced to Farrelly by Mr Heaney at Fine Gael functions in County Meath. However, Farrelly still appears as an advisor to Vesada on its website. Although he has denied being involved in the lobbying for IIP funds, it is clear Farrelly was all over the transactions surrounding the Chinese donation to KADA.
In November 2022, KADA successfully applied to Meath County Council for planning permission to construct 10 dwellings at the retirement village. This followed the refusal of An Bord Pleanála of an earlier application to build 33 detached modular houses on the land at Boynagh, Kilmainhamwood in Kells, County Meath. The refusal followed objections to the proposals by two long-time residents of the retirement village.
In September 2021, the planning inspector recommended refusal on the grounds that the proposed development would “detract from the amenities of existing and future residents of the retirement village”. She also said that the scale of the development would “fail to comply with the Core strategy of the current County Development Plan”. Farrelly was a member and chairperson of Meath County Council during the preparation of the local authority’s 2013-2019 development plan. The current permission for 10 houses has also been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
Farrelly confirmed that he was obliged to make a report to the Department of Justice every three months on his activities as a lobbyist. He said he “was not at liberty” to comment on whether he had been involved in discussions with the Department or the Minister for Justice in relation to the Chinese donation to KADA and its purchase of the nursing home.
“I am not going to start giving out information about a charity I set up over 20 years ago”.
Asked if he was in touch with the Department in respect of the nursing home investment through the IIP, he replied:
“I would have been in touch with the Department when I registered as a lobbyist. I registered to be a lobbyist, full stop. That covers a lot of areas across departments of government”.
