Mr. Martin Konený:

It has already had an impact, even though it has not been adopted. As we mentioned, it has inspired similar attempts in several other countries. If it was adopted in Ireland, the impact we have seen already would be several times stronger because there would be a real example of legislation that has been put in place. I do not believe it would convince all 27 member states to adopt similar legislation because of the well-known differences between them, but it would convince several other parliaments to adopt this. Perhaps we will see this in any case, as I mentioned earlier.

If Ireland showed leadership with this Bill, it would definitely spark several other countries to follow. There is no question about that.

We know the legislation is kind of on hold in Ireland but it is not that we must wait and do nothing in the meantime. We know the Government in Ireland has not been in favour of this legislation but it can be a champion of the differentiation policy at EU level and with other member states. It is something on which it can do much more than it has been doing.