James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contributions and support for this motion. The challenge we have in dealing with counterfeiting is that we need to have an approach that is across the European Union while also working with other international partners. As has been pointed out, the challenge is, in particular, to protect retailers and customers who often lose out and to make people aware of what is the standard for our currency so those who may not be familiar with our currency are not misled.

As I mentioned in my opening remarks, this proposal is part of a first package of measures to rationalise reporting requirements and is a step in a process that is looking comprehensively at existing reporting requirements with a view to assessing their continued relevance and making them more efficient. While certain reporting requirements are essential, they need to be as efficient as possible. This current proposal is a minor technical amendment to Directive 2014/62/EU, which seeks to remove the obligation to report certain statistical data to the Commission as part of a wider imperative to rationalise reporting requirements. As the legal advice states, not opting in would have greater implications for the State. This measure repeals and deletes a reporting obligation upon the State and if the State does not opt into this repeal, it would still be obliged to collate and transmit statistics for which the Commission has no use.

For all of those reasons, I thank the Deputies for their support and commend the motion to the House.

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