Not entirely correct. The IR counts towards his necessary total time for the CPL.
Doing PPL-IR-CPL is cheaper than doing PPL-CPL-IR.
Not forgetting, of course, that to obtain an IR(H), one has to have at least 50 hours PIC cross country flight time of which at least 10 hours must be in helicopters.
Additionally, the applicant must hold a night rating. To obtain a night rating on helicopters, the applicant must have completed at least 100 hours of flight time as pilot of helicopters
after the issue of the PPL, including at least 60 hours PIC on helicopters and 20 hours of cross country flight.