A lot of ill-informed nonsense here about the UK IMCR....
No, it is not just a 'get out of trouble' rating. That's the first myth to dispel. It is a rating which, in 40 years of experience, has proved to provide privileges entirely commensurate with the experience, training and testing requirements associated with the rating. Unlike the FAA IR which is rarely, if ever, retested, the UK IMCR requires a comprehensive retest of IF skills (including limited panel unusual attitude recoveries) every 2 years.
The approach privileges have a minimum decision height of 500ft and a minimum descent height of 600 ft. These are currently only 'recommended' values; if EASA accepts the FCL.600(b) proposal, we intend to ask the CAA to make these 'mandatory' values.
If there's any 'overkill', it stems from the ridiculous CAA attitude that the IR should be a 'last chance check' of suitability for airline employment, rather than a check of IF skills.
The UK IMCR / IR(R) is an entirely adequate rating, which is both proportionate and safe and which must be retained.
As for the FCL.008 C-b M IR coming to this theatre soon, I wouldn't bet on that. If a vote has to be taken on all of FCL.008 rather than just parts of it, you can rest assured that at least one Member State will oppose it - because they have grave concerns about the proposed EIR. That's not the UK, incidentally.....