60.—(1) For the purpose of providing practical guidance to employers, employees and any other persons to whom this Act applies with respect to safety, health and welfare at work, or the requirements or prohibitions of any of the relevant statutory provisions, the Authority—

(a) may, and shall if so requested by the Minister, prepare and publish codes of practice, and

(b) may approve of a code of practice or any part of a code of practice made or published by any other body.

(2) Before publishing or approving of a code of practice or any part of a code of practice under this section, the Authority—

(a) shall obtain the consent of the Minister,

(b) may publish in such manner as the Authority considers appropriate a draft of the code of practice or sections of a draft code of practice and shall give persons one month from the date of publication of the draft code or sections within which to make written representations to the Authority in relation to the draft code or sections of the draft code, or such further period, not exceeding 28 days, as the Authority in its absolute discretion thinks fit, and

(c) following consultation and, where relevant, having considered the representations, if any, made, shall submit the draft code to the Minister for his or her consent to its publication or approval under this section, with or without modification.

(3) Where the Authority publishes or approves of a code of practice or approves of any part of a code of practice, it shall publish a notice of such publication or approval in Iris Oifigiúil and that notice shall—

(a) identify the code,

(b) specify the matters relating to safety, health and welfare at work or the relevant statutory provisions in respect of which the code is published or approved of, and

(c) specify the date on which the code shall come into operation.

(4) The Authority may with the consent of the Minister and following consultation with any other person or body that the Authority considers appropriate or as the Minister directs—

(a) amend or revoke any code of practice or part of any code of practice prepared and published by it under this section, or

(b) withdraw its approval of any code of practice or part of any code of practice approved by it under this section.

(5) Where the Authority amends or revokes, or withdraws its approval of a code of practice or any part of a code of practice published or approved under this section, it shall publish notice of the amendment, revocation or withdrawal, as the case may be, in Iris Oifigiúil.

(6) The Authority shall make available for public inspection without charge at its principal office during normal working hours—

(a) a copy of each code of practice published or approved by it, and

(b) where a code of practice has been amended, a copy of the code as so amended.

(7) Notwithstanding the repeal of the Act of 1989 by section 4, a code of practice in operation immediately before the commencement of that section continues to be a code of practice as if prepared and published under this section.