Mr. Naoise Gaffney:

It is our view that we should move as quickly as possible. My understanding is that the 2024 date is the date on which the European and local elections are due to take place, so people will be going to the polls anyway. The question is whether there is any basis on which to bring people to the polls before that. As Deputy O'Reilly pointed out, that will likely require at least one other referendum issue to be on the card at the same time.

Deputy O'Reilly asked whether this was a binary issue and if we have lost everything if we do not join at the beginning. It can be considered a sliding scale. The later we are, the less potential opportunity will remain for us to play for or the more we will have to redouble our marketing efforts to potential users of the system to try to convince them that it is worth waiting for the Irish division when it comes on stream. However, that is fighting an uphill battle. Our message here today is that we appreciate that bringing this through is not a straightforward undertaking by any means but, nonetheless, best efforts to do things as promptly as is feasible is something that should definitely be considered.