Mr. Muiris Kennedy:

That is a very good point. It would provide protection against counterfeiting to Donegal tweed and Connemara marble. Both are international brands and are competing internationally at the moment. There is a lot of counterfeiting going on and it is undermining the credibility of their core brands. They find it difficult as smaller producers to have the resources to be able to challenge particular look-alike products because a trademark must be registered in each individual country and that is very expensive. With the new GI system each producer, such as Donegal tweed or Connemara marble, would not necessarily have to register their product or trade name in each country. That gives them protection. On the other hand, from a business perspective, it gives a point of difference many competitors would not have. A lot of producers in the marketplace do not have PGI European recognition for their product, so if a producer does, it gives an extra point of difference that enables it to enhance its offer to potential buyers. It also enables companies to extend their reach into other markets they would perhaps not be able to without PGI protection. From a business perspective and a counterfeiting perspective it is very beneficial to producers.