Mr. Dualta Ó Broin:

The point we are making is that the EU has said it proposes to legislate in this area and Ireland is taking quite a prescriptive approach to transparency of political advertising requirements. Given that it is only six months away, it seems more prudent to us to hold off to see what the requirements at EU level will be. At that point, the electoral commission or the Houses of the Oireachtas could decide whether they go far enough. Electoral law will always be a member state competence. It is that question of alignment, particularly in view of the fact that the European Commission has said it proposes to provide for transparency in political advertising across the EU.