I think Head Turner has it, at least partially.
The CAA examiners department is (in my perception at least, which stands to be corrected) mainly staffed by ex-mil instructors, some of whom have then partaken of the civil commercial world, and whose expectation of a helicopter is that it will EOL to the ground quite nicely, as they've never contended with an R22 - an outstanding example is a recent examiner who I've heard (again I stand ready to be corrected) tests for FI(R)s without an EOL, just a power recovery due to lacking time in R22s before starting in post.
Thus if the CAA reduced requirements for EOLs specifically for R22s, but made sure deficiencies elsewhere as previously mentioned were addressed then it may help. However, operators of other types would surely feel aggrieved at a perceived "special treatment".
Where I would take issue with Head Turner is when he states "the fact that the R22 is an awful machine on which to train" - my italics. If it were SO awful the CAA would have done something drastic about it by now and operators would have moved to different types. And if Head Turner is who I think he is, R22 costs beat A119 costs for PPL hands down.