Mr. Aidan Ryan:

I will add to Mr. Finnegan's comments. This proposal is at a very early stage. It was tabled by the Commission in December. We have had one meeting so far. All there has been time for is to have a first-cut review of articles 1, 2 and 3, which involve the definitions and the offences. As Mr. Finnegan said, the proposal addresses that offences must be unlawful and committed intentionally. There is also a reference to serious negligence. Recognising that the European legal system is slightly different from ours, we have to analyse and study the effects of this. We are not alone here. The member states are also querying exactly what has been proposed in these definitions and are looking for clarity. We expect the Presidency and Commission to listen to the questions that are being raised by the member states and to come back at a later stage with some level of clarity and discussion to try to reach a harmonised view. The text being looked at is at a very early stage and a lot of work needs to happen before it is finalised.