Here we go again...
The qualification(IMCR) is not there to allow you to fly in cloud
Says who?
Your minima is considerably higher than with an IR
No they're not. They're exactly the same from a vertical point of view, although there is a 1800m horizontal restriction for take-off and landing. There's a *recommendation* to increase vertical minima, but it's not law. I've flown ILS approaches to <300ft numerous times on an IMC rating.
My IMC test iincluded a SID, DME arc, 6 laps of the hold from the correct join and an NDB/DME approach... The FAA IR (note: I'm not including the oral test) was no harder. One's currency in instrument flying is far, far more important than the writing on their license.