John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Forrest for his presentation. While the Irish are not as familiar, as Mr. McCrea outlined, with the European notion of foundations and philanthropy, as Deputy Corcoran Kennedy stated, the Irish are well known for their generosity. How many people work in the sector in Ireland? If a standard set of legal principles were adopted across the EU, would that lead to foundations in other countries setting up operations in Ireland? Mr. McCrea mentioned one British foundation that is active here. What does he feel the nature of the legal framework should be? I presume it will not be prescriptive, given each member state has different regulations and rules regarding charitable status and so on. What practical measures would such a statute result in? What shape would it take?