15. (1) Section 12 of the Act of 2006 is amended in subsection (1) —

(a) in paragraph (a) by inserting “or has failed to provide any information, documents or evidence required by or under this Act in respect of the application within the period specified in regulations under section 29” after “(the ‘application’)”,

(b) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (c):

“(c) the foreign national or the person who made the offer of employment, or in the case of an application referred to—

(i) in section 4(2)(a), the contractor or the relevant person,

(ii) in section 4(2)(b), the connected person, or

(iii) in section 4(2)(c), the person party to the arrangement referred to in that section who made the application,

has been convicted of an offence under this Act, the Act of 2003, the Immigration Act 2004 or an enactment specified in Schedule 1, during the period of 5 years ending on the date of the application,”,

(c) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (e):

“(e) the following 2 conditions are satisfied namely:

(i) a period of less than 12 months has elapsed since the foreign national concerned first commenced employment in the State pursuant to an employment permit granted to him or her; and

(ii) the application is made within the period referred to in subparagraph (i) and on the date of the application—

(I) the employment permit referred to in subparagraph (i) is in force, or

(II) the foreign national has surrendered, in accordance with section 24, the employment permit referred to in subparagraph (i), within the period referred to in subparagraph (i),”,

(d) by inserting the following paragraphs after paragraph (i):

“(ia) the foreign national in respect of whom the application is made—

(i) has landed in the State with the permission of the Minister for Justice and Equality but has not been given the permission referred to in section 2(10)(d) of the Act of 2003 by the Minister for Justice and Equality, and

(ii) was, on the date the application was made—

(I) employed by the person who made the offer of employment that is the subject of the application, or

(II) employed by another person on that date,

without an employment permit or the permission referred to in section 2(10)(d) of the Act of 2003,

(ib) the foreign national in respect of whom the application is made had been in employment in the State prior to the making of the application without an employment permit or permission of the Minister for Justice and Equality referred to in section 2(10)(d) of the Act of 2003,

(ic) the foreign national in respect of whom the application is made has landed in the State with the permission of the Minister for Justice and Equality and that permission is granted on the condition that the foreign national concerned shall not be in employment in the State,”,

(e) in paragraph (j), by substituting “standard working week remuneration,” for “standard working week remuneration, or”,

(f) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (k):

“(k) the skills, knowledge, and where appropriate, qualifications and experience, referred to in section 6(b), are not required for, or relevant to, the employment concerned, or”,

and

(g) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (k):

“(l) if he or she is satisfied that the foreign national concerned does not possess the qualifications, knowledge or skills for the employment concerned or the foreign national concerned does not have the appropriate level of experience required for the employment.”.

(2) Section 12 of the Act of 2006 is amended by inserting the following subsections after subsection (1):

“(1A) The Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit where the application in respect of an employment that, having regard to the different purposes referred to in section 3A(2), does not fall within the purpose in respect of which the application was made or is an employment that is specified in regulations under section 14 in respect of a different purpose.

(1B) In the case of an application in respect of the purpose referred to in section 3A(2)(d) —

(a) the Minister shall, subject to subsection (1C), refuse to grant an employment permit if the Minister is satisfied that—

(i) without prejudice to subsection (1G)(a)(ii), the connected person is not engaged in substantive business operations in the State,

(ii) the foreign employer is not engaged in substantive business operations in the place, outside the State, in which it is established, or

(iii) the connected person is not connected with the foreign employer,

(b) the Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit if, in the opinion of the Minister, the connected person or the foreign employer has not, or both of them have not, made appropriate arrangements—

(i) to provide appropriate accommodation and board (or either of them) for the foreign national during the period in which he or she is in the State to carry out duties for, or participate in a training programme provided by the connected person, or

(ii) to provide appropriate health insurance, in respect of the foreign national should he or she require medical treatment for illness or injury during the period for which he or she will be in the State pursuant to the employment permit,

(c) the Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit if the Minister is satisfied that the health insurance provided by the person referred to in paragraph (b)(iii)(II) of section 1A(1) does not have the same, or similar, effect as the health insurance provided by a health insurer, or

(d) the Minister may refuse to grant the employment permit if he or she is satisfied that the carrying out of the duties, or the participation in the training programme, by the foreign national is not appropriate to the requirements of the connected person.

(1C) Subsection (1B)(a)(i) shall not apply to the connected person where the connected person carrying on those business operations has been registered with the Revenue Commissioners for a period not exceeding 2 years on the date the application is made.

(1D) The Minister shall refuse to grant an employment permit in respect of the purpose referred to in section 3A(2)(e) where the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the foreign national concerned may not be employed by the contractor concerned during the period for which the employment permit is to be granted.

(1E) In the case of an application in respect of the purpose referred to in section 3A(2)(e), the Minister—

(a) may refuse to grant an employment permit if, in the opinion of the Minister, the contractor has not made appropriate arrangements—

(i) to provide appropriate accommodation and board, or either of them, for the foreign national while he or she is in the State to perform the duties arising from the contract service agreement, or

(ii) to provide appropriate health insurance in respect of the foreign national should he or she require medical treatment for illness or injury during the period for which he or she will be in the State pursuant to the employment permit,

or

(b) may refuse to grant an employment permit if the Minister is satisfied that the health insurance provided by a person referred to in paragraph (b)(iii)(II) of section 1A(1) does not have the same, or similar, effect as the health insurance provided by a health insurer.

(1F) In the case of an application for an employment permit for the purpose referred to in section 3A(2)(i), the Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit where—

(a) the Minister is satisfied that—

(i) the foreign national concerned is not a full-time student enrolled in a third-level institution outside the State,

(ii) the course of study concerned is not wholly or substantially concerned with the qualifications or skills referred to in section 3A(2)(i), or

(iii) the employment in respect of which the application is made is not wholly or substantially concerned with the skills or qualifications referred to in subparagraph (ii),

(b) the Minister is not satisfied that there is a shortage of those qualifications or skills, or

(c) the Minister is satisfied there are reasonable grounds for believing that, at the end of the 12 month period, the foreign national may not return to the institution outside the State in which he or she is enrolled to complete the course of study concerned.

(1G) The Minister shall refuse to grant an employment permit where—

(a) the person who has made the offer of employment—

(i) is not registered with the Revenue Commissioners, and

(ii) where such person is carrying on a business, the Minister is satisfied that such person is not engaged in substantive business operations in the State,

or

(b) in the case of an application referred to in—

(i) section 4(2)(a), the contractor concerned is not registered with the Revenue Commissioners,

(ii) section 4(2)(b), the connected person is not registered with the Revenue Commissioners, or

(iii) section 4(2)(c), the person referred to in that section who made the application referred to in that section, is not registered with the Revenue Commissioners.

(1H) The Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit if he or she is satisfied that the person who made the offer of employment concerned—

(a) where such person is a company within the meaning of the Companies Acts, does not comply with any requirement relating to the registration of the company pursuant to those Acts,

(b) does not comply with any requirement relating to the registration of the business name of that person pursuant to the Act of 1963,

(c) where such person is a limited partnership referred to in the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, does not comply with any requirement relating to the registration of the limited partnership under that Act,

(d) where such person is an industrial and provident society within the meaning of the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1893 to 1978, does not comply with any requirement relating to the registration of the society pursuant to those Acts,

(e) where such person is a friendly society within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Acts 1896 to 1977, does not comply with any requirement relating to the registration of the society pursuant to those Acts, or

(f) where such person is a trade union within the meaning of the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 1990, does not comply with any requirement relating to the registration of that trade union under those Acts.

(1I) In the case of an application for the purpose referred to in—

(a) section 3A(2)(f), the Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit where—

(i) an employment permit in respect of that purpose had been granted and had expired before the application was made and no application for renewal was made in respect of that employment permit, and

(ii) the Minister is satisfied that it is in the public interest to refuse to grant the employment permit,

(b) section 3A(2)(h), the Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit where, in accordance with section 3F, having consulted with a person referred to in section 3F, the Minister is satisfied that the employment that is the subject of the application concerned is not appropriate for the development and operation of sporting, or, as the case may be, cultural activities in the State,

(c) section 3A(2)(g), the Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit where the Minister is satisfied that—

(i) the exchange agreement concerned does not apply to the foreign national in respect of whom the application is made, or, without prejudice to subsection (3), the employment in respect of which the application is made, or

(ii) without prejudice to subsection (3), the employment in respect of which the application is made does not come within the exchange agreement,

and

(d) section 3A(2)(b), the Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit where, in the opinion of the Minister, the requirements of section 3C(2) or, as the case may be, section 3C(3) have not been met.

(1J) The Minister, in the case of an application for an employment permit for the purpose referred to in paragraph (d) or (e) of section 3A(2), shall—

(a) without prejudice to subsection (1)(j), refuse to grant an employment permit if the Minister is satisfied that the hourly rate of the remuneration, in so far as it relates to the salary to be paid to the foreign national, is less than the national minimum hourly rate of pay or, where appropriate to the employment in respect of which the application is made, the hourly rate referred to in subsection (6)(b),

(b) without prejudice to subsection (1)(a), refuse to grant an employment permit where the connected person did not provide the information and documents referred to in section 3D(4) or the contractor did not provide the information and documents referred to in section 3E(4), or

(c) refuse to grant an employment permit where the Minister is not satisfied with the arrangements for the additional payment referred to in section 3D(4)(g) or, as the case may be, section 3E(4)(g).

(1K) The Minister shall refuse to grant an employment permit where he or she is satisfied that in the 6 months preceding the day on which the application was made—

(a) a person was employed in the employment that is the subject of the application, and

(b) that person was dismissed by reason of redundancy from that employment.”.

(3) Section 12(2) of the Act of 2006 is amended by—

(a) substituting “Subsections (1) to (1K) are” for “Subsection (1) is”, and

(b) substituting “sections 10 and 10A” for “section 10(2) ”.

(4) Section 12(3) of the Act of 2006 is amended by substituting “Subject to sections 20A(5) and 20B(5), the Minister shall” for “The Minister shall”.

(5) Section 12(5) of the Act of 2006 is amended by—

(a) inserting “or withdrawn” after “refused”, and

(b) inserting “or a person referred to in subsection (5A)” after “to the applicant”.

(6) Section 12 of the Act of 2006 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(5A) An applicant referred to in subsection (5) may in the application made by him or her nominate a person to whom the portion of the fee is to be returned.”.

(7) Section 12 of the Act of 2006 is amended in subsection (6) by substituting the following for paragraph (b):

“(b) if the hourly rate of pay fixed under or pursuant to any enactment that applies to the employment concerned is greater than the national minimum hourly rate of pay, the hourly rate of pay that is fixed under or pursuant to that enactment.”.