The HSA will retain its power under section 88 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005. This section empowers the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, for the purpose of protecting health, safety and welfare at work, to prescribe certain activities as being subject to licence requirements. The licensing function may be performed by the Health and Safety Authority or by another body so prescribed by the Minister. This provision has been in place since 1989, having been carried over to the 2005 Act from the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989.