(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a supervisory authority may grant or refuse to grant to any person applying to it under this section an authorisation to operate as an authorised investment business firm.

(2) The grant of an authorisation under subsection (1) of this section may be given unconditionally or it may be given subject to such conditions or requirements or both as the supervisory authority considers fit.

(3) If a supervisory authority refuses to grant authorisation to a proposed investment business firm under this section, it shall serve notice on the proposed investment business firm of its intention to refuse to authorise it. The notice must include a statement setting out the reasons for the refusal.

(3A) A decision of a supervisory authority refusing to grant authorisation to a proposed investment business firm under this section is an appealable decision for the purposes of Part VIIA of the Central Bank Act 1942.