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7 1989

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK ACT, 1989

PART IV

Regulations and Codes of Practice

Review of legislation.

27. —(1) It shall be the duty of the Authority—

(a) to keep under review the relevant statutory provisions;

(b) to keep under review the associated statutory provisions;

(c) to submit, from time to time, to the Minister such proposals as it considers appropriate in relation to the relevant statutory provisions or for the making or revoking of any instruments under those provisions; and

(d) to submit, from time to time, to the Minister having responsibility for any of the associated statutory provisions such proposals as it considers appropriate in relation to those provisions or for the making or revoking of any instruments under those provisions.

(2) Before submitting proposals to the Minister in accordance with subsection (1) (c), the Authority shall consult any Minister of the Government or other person or body that appears to the Authority to be appropriate in the circumstances or where the Minister so directs, and, in particular, without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, the Authority shall consult the Minister for the Environment in the case of any proposals in relation to controls on the design of or construction of buildings.

(3) The Authority shall consider any proposals for legislative change concerning occupational safety or health and related matters referred to it by the Minister or any other Minister of the Government responsible for any of the relevant statutory provisions or any of the associated statutory provisions as the case may be.

Regulations.

28. —(1) The Minister may make regulations for or in relation to any of the matters set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act and any other matter necessary to give effect to this Act.

(2) Regulations made under this Act may apply to all work activities or to particular work activities and may relate to one or more chemical, physical or biological agents.

(3) Before the Minister makes any regulations in exercise of any power conferred on him by this Act (other than as a result of a proposal made by the Authority under section 27 ) he shall consult the Authority.

(4) Where the Minister proposes to make regulations so as to give effect with modifications to any proposal made by the Authority under section 27 , he shall before making the regulations consult the Authority.

(5) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under it.

(6) The Minister may, by regulations made under this section, exempt from all or any of the provisions of the relevant statutory provisions any specified class of activity or any specified class of person or place of work on such conditions as may be prescribed, where he is satisfied that the application of such provisions is unnecessary or impracticable.

Miscellaneous adaptations.

29. —(1) References to the Minister (other than in respect of making rules, regulations, bye-laws, orders, exemptions or exceptions) contained immediately before the establishment day in any existing enactment shall, insofar as they relate to functions exercisable by the Authority under this Act, be construed as references to the Authority.

(2) Where immediately before the establishment day any legal proceedings are pending to which the Minister is a party and the proceedings have reference to a function exercisable by the Authority, the name of the Authority shall be substituted in the proceedings for that of the Minister and the proceedings shall not abate by reason of such substitution.

(3) Anything commenced before the establishment day by or under the authority of the Minister may, so far as it relates to functions exercisable by the Authority, be carried on and completed on or after such establishment day by the Authority.

(4) Every instrument made or issued under an existing enactment which was in force immediately before the repeal of that enactment by section 4 shall continue in force as if made or issued under this Act.

Codes of practice.

30. —(1) The Authority may draw up and issue codes of practice.

(2) The Authority may, as it thinks fit, approve of any code of practice or any part of any code of practice drawn up by any other body.

(3) Codes of practice issued or approved of under this section shall be for the purpose of providing practical guidance with respect to the requirements or prohibitions of any of the relevant statutory provisions.

(4) The Authority shall obtain the consent of the Minister before issuing or approving of a code of practice.

(5) The Authority shall, before seeking the consent of the Minister for the issue or approval of a code of practice, consult any Minister of the Government or other person or body that appears to the Authority to be appropriate or where the Minister so directs.

(6) Where the Authority issues or approves of a code of practice it shall publish a statement in the Iris Oifigiúil of its issue or approval of that code, identifying the code in question, specifying for which provisions of the relevant statutory provisions the code is issued or approved and the date from which the said code shall have effect.

(7) The Authority may, with the consent of the Minister and following consultation with any other Minister of the Government or any other person or body that appears to the Authority to be appropriate—

(a) revise the whole or part of any code of practice prepared by it,

(b) withdraw its approval for any code of practice or part of any code of practice.

(8) Where the Authority revises, withdraws or ceases to approve of a code of practice it shall publish notice to that effect in the Iris Oifigiúil.

Use of codes of practice in criminal proceedings.

31. —(1) A failure on the part of any person to observe any provision of a code of practice shall not of itself render him liable to any civil or criminal proceedings; but where in any criminal proceedings a party is alleged to have committed an offence by reason of a contravention of any requirement or prohibition imposed by or under any of the relevant statutory provisions being a provision for which there was a code of practice at the time of the alleged contravention, subsection (2) shall have effect with respect to that code in relation to those proceedings.

(2) Any provision of the code of practice which appears to the court to give practical guidance as to the observance of the requirement or prohibition alleged to have been contravened shall be admissible in evidence; and if it is proved that any act or omission of the defendant alleged to constitute the contravention is a failure to observe such provision of the code, or if it is proved that any act or omission of the defendant is a compliance with such provision of the code, then such failure or compliance shall be admissible in evidence.