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Just three people have secured visas under the Government's much-hyped "visas for cash", which sees wealthy individuals offered residency in return for investing in Irish companies.
The scheme, known as the immigrant investor programme, was launched by Justice Minister Alan Shatter early last year. It was one of two government schemes set up to encourage talented or wealthy immigrants to move to Ireland and help boost our ailing economy.
Just 11 people have got visas under the Government's start-up entrepreneur scheme, which was set up to make it easier for international entrepreneurs to move to Ireland and start up a business here.
The Government has been accepting applications for visas under both schemes since last April.
Although Dragons' Den star and venture capitalist Sean O'Sullivan described the Government's start-up entrepreneur scheme as a "smart programme", he said a lack of awareness may be hindering its take-up. "I don't think anyone outside of Ireland knows about this programme," added Mr O'Sullivan.
At a conference last week, the entrepreneur and co-founder of CoderDojo, Bill Liao, said that Ireland's strict immigration policy was stifling tech innovation here.
Speaking at the Global Technology Leaders Summit in Cork, Mr Liao said his "green card" application had been rejected by the Government three times.
