21.      (1) F11[Subject to subsection (1A), a person] may not make an application for international protection where the application is, under subsection (2), inadmissible.

F12[(1A) Subsection (1) shall not apply to a person who is deemed under section 50A(4) or 51C(5), as the case may be, to have made an application for international protection in accordance with section 15.]

(2) An application for international protection is inadmissible where one or more than one of the following circumstances applies in relation to the person who is the subject of the application:

(a) another Member State has granted refugee status or subsidiary protection status to the person;

(b) a country other than a Member State is, in accordance with subsection (15), a first country of asylum for F11[person;]

F12[(c) the person arrived in the State from a safe third country that is, in accordance with subsection (17), a safe country for the person.]

(3) Where an international protection officer is of the opinion that an application for international protection is inadmissible, he or she shall recommend to the Minister that the application be determined to be inadmissible.

(4) Where an international protection officer makes a recommendation under subsection (3) —

(a) he or she shall prepare a report in writing, which shall include the reasons for the recommendation, and

(b) the Minister shall, as soon as practicable, notify the person concerned and his or her legal representative (if known) of the recommendation, which notification shall include—

(i) a statement of the reasons for the recommendation,

(ii) a copy of the report referred to in paragraph (a),

(iii) a statement informing the person of his or her entitlement under subsection (6) to appeal to the Tribunal against the recommendation, and

(iv) where applicable, a statement of the effect of subsection (13).

(5) The Minister shall notify the High Commissioner of a recommendation under subsection (3).

(6) A person to whom a notification under subsection (4) is sent may, within such period from the date of the notification as may be prescribed under section 77, appeal to the Tribunal against the recommendation concerned.

(7) Sections 41, 44, 45 and 46(8) shall apply to an appeal under subsection (6) subject to the following modifications, and any other necessary modifications:

(a) the Tribunal shall make its decision without an oral hearing;

(b) a reference in section 44 to the documents given under section 40 to an applicant shall be construed as a reference to the notification given to the person concerned under subsection (4).

(8) Before reaching a decision on an appeal under subsection (6), the Tribunal shall consider the following—

(a) the notice of appeal,

(b) all material furnished to the Tribunal by the Minister that is relevant to the decision as to whether the application for international protection concerned is admissible,

(c) any observations made to the Tribunal by the Minister or the High Commissioner, and

(d) such other matters as the Tribunal considers relevant to the appeal.

(9) In relation to an appeal under subsection (6), the Tribunal may decide to—

(a) affirm the recommendation of the international protection officer, or

(b) set aside the recommendation of the international protection officer.

(10) The decision of the Tribunal on an appeal under subsection (6) and the reasons for the decision shall be communicated by the Tribunal to the person concerned and his or her legal representative (if known), the Minister and the High Commissioner.

(11) Where a recommendation is made under subsection (3), and—

(a) the person concerned does not appeal under subsection (6) against the recommendation, or

(b) the Tribunal, under subsection (9), affirms the recommendation,

the Minister shall determine the application to be inadmissible.

(12) Where the Minister determines an application to be inadmissible, he or she shall, as soon as practicable, notify the person concerned and his or her legal representative (if known) of the determination and of the reasons for it, which notification shall, where applicable, include a statement of the effect of subsection (13).

(13) Where an application for international protection that is purported to have been made under section 15 is determined under subsection (11) to be inadmissible—

(a) any examination of the application shall be terminated, and

(b) the report referred to in section 39 shall not be prepared.

(14) A notification under subsections (4)(b) and (12) shall be in a language that the person concerned may reasonably be supposed to understand, where—

(a) the person is not assisted or represented by a legal representative, and

(b) legal assistance is not available to the person.

(15) For the purposes of this section, a country is a first country of asylum for a person if he or she—

(a) (i) has been recognised in that country as a refugee and can still avail himself or herself of that protection, or

(ii) otherwise enjoys sufficient protection in that country, including benefiting from the principle of non-refoulement,

and

(b) will be re-admitted to that country.

(16) In F13[subsection (2)(a)], “refugee status” and “subsidiary protection status” shall be construed in accordance with Article 2 of Council Directive 2004/83/EC².

F12[(17) For the purposes of this section, a safe third country is a safe country for a person if he or she—

(a) having regard to the matters referred to in subsection (18), has a sufficient connection with the country concerned on the basis of which it is reasonable for him or her to return there,

(b) will not be subjected in the country concerned to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or F13[punishment or a serious and individual threat to his or her life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict,]

(c) will be re-admitted to the country F13[concerned, and]

F14[(d) has the possibility in the country concerned to request refugee status and, if found to be a refugee, to receive protection in accordance with the Geneva Convention.]

(18) For the purposes of subsection (17)(a), the matters to which regard shall be had include (but are not limited to) the following:

(a) the period the person concerned has spent, whether lawfully or unlawfully, in the country concerned;

(b) any relationship between the person concerned and persons in the country concerned, including nationals and residents of that country and family members seeking to be recognised in that country as refugees;

(c) the presence in the country concerned of any family members, relatives or other family relations of the person concerned;

(d) the nature and extent of any cultural connections between the person concerned and the country concerned.]

F14[(19) In subsection (17)(d), "refugee status" means the recognition by the country concerned of a third country national or stateless person as a refugee.]