11.— (1) The Minister shall not authorise a person as a CVR test operator under section 9, amend an authorisation under section 14 or renew an authorisation under section 15 unless—

(a) the person makes an application in the prescribed form accompanied by the prescribed documents and supporting information,

(b) the person has paid the prescribed fee,

(c) the person, at the time of making the application, holds a current tax clearance certificate issued under section 1095 (inserted by section 127(b) of the Finance Act 2002) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997,

(d) the Minister is satisfied that the person has, or has access to, the premises, facilities, equipment and testers necessary to enable tests to be carried out in accordance with this Part (including any regulations made under this Part and any guidelines),

(e) the Minister is satisfied that the person has, or has the capacity to obtain, the necessary financial resources to provide CVR testing under the authorisation applied for, and

(f) the Minister is satisfied that, having regard to section 12, the person, or in the case of an application by a company each director and the secretary of that company, is a fit and proper person to hold such authorisation.

(2) The Minister may prescribe the relevant standards of premises, facilities and equipment necessary for the purposes of subsection (1)(d).

(3) In deciding whether or not to issue an authorisation under section 9, amend it under section 14 or renew it under section 15 the Minister shall have regard to the need for—

(a) competent delivery of CVR testing,

(b) a well-functioning, well-maintained, accessible, competitive, integrated and safe network of CVR testing centres,

(c) a consistent approach to carrying out tests and determining the results of such tests,

(d) CVR test operators to have appropriate and adequate premises, testing facilities and equipment for the purposes of carrying out testing,

(e) the co-operation and the co-ordination of CVR test operators within the CVR system, and

(f) CVR test operators to be able to exchange and share information, and communicate with the Authority quickly and efficiently.

(4) Where the Minister decides not to authorise a person as a CVR test operator, the Minister shall inform the applicant in writing setting out the reasons for the decision.

(5) An authorisation granted under this section shall not be granted for a period of more than 10 years.