Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

The aim of these amendments is also to increase the clarity of the intention of the Bill in the context of the formal consultation process associated with the establishment of the petroleum framework. This amendment provides that codes of practice and technical standards used in setting the minimum safety benchmark to be achieved by developers will be specified in the safety framework. The individual details will be set out in the safety case guidelines specific to each designated petroleum activity. By specifying codes and standards within the framework, the Commission can outline recognised best practice which must apply at a minimum to a petroleum undertaking. This does not obviate the responsibility placed on petroleum activities to reduce their safety related risks to a level that is as low as reasonably feasible. An additional benefit of setting out the relevant codes and standards in this manner is that it will remove any ambiguity as to which appropriate codes are standard for each activity.