Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Under Part 4, it is clear that before establishing or adopting a code of practice the Minister shall publish the code on the website of his or her Department. The legislation also indicates that a Minister may, having considered any representations received, establish or adopt a draft code with or without modification. The experience of codes of practice in this country has been somewhat limited but with the codes that have been introduced, the experience has been quite positive. The Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council introduced animal welfare guidelines for beef farmers and a code of conduct was introduced as part of that process which is also a set of guidelines. One can be more prescriptive in making codes of conduct mandatory or voluntary but we have options under the code of practice section that we can go through when we deal with that section.