Cork court told pizza chain employee had been refused work permits

An employee at a Cork pizza chain had already been refused a work permit twice when they were found working illegally at a Macroom pizza outlet, the district court was told.

Darragh Healy, solicitor for the minister for enterprise, tourism and employment, told Macroom District Court that, during an inspection by the Workplace Relations Commission, an employee was found to be working without a proper visa or work permit at J&I New Ventures Ltd, trading as Apache Pizza.

Further investigation found that the same employee had previously applied for a work permit and been refused on two separate occasions.

Defence solicitor Jack Purcell said that the company employed between 15 and 18 people across three locations, and all had the proper permits to work in Ireland.

He said that the individual involved was the only employee without the correct documentation.

He said the company “put their hands up” and admitted the error, and had no previous convictions.

Judge Joanne Carroll said that it was important that all employers made sure their employees had the proper documentation, and she convicted and fined J&I New Ventures Ltd €300, allowing four months to pay the fine.

The judge declined a request to order legal costs against the company.

• This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme