Ms Anna Levin:

I thank Ms Dennehy. To add to that, there is an irony that this transition to LED lighting was purported to be on environmental grounds but it has caused an environmental problem throughout the world because the perception of it being cheap and energy efficient means we have much more lighting. Light is time in the natural world. Every creature on earth is light sensitive. It is not just Ms Dennehy but every tree, flower and bird. When we have too much light, it messes with those systems and cues. Ironically, the most energy-efficient form of LED lighting that we have in many of the street lights is very blue and bright and is the most environmentally damaging. There is something that needs to be addressed here.

There was a question contained in the question about how many people are affected as well. One of the previous members answered that to some extent by talking about the sliding scale. There are people, such as Ms Dennehy, who are very severely sensitive to light and who we describe as light disabled. They are unable to continue to live a normal life. There are people lower down the scale who get headaches, have sleeping problems or skin disorders or may exhibit anxiety. It affects them in different ways but they are pretty much able to function. Then there are people who do not even know or think they are affected but those blue lights that are upsetting the natural world are also changing human sleep patterns and circadian rhythms.

Circadian rhythm governs not only waking and sleeping but every physiological process in the body from the salve neural to blood sugar. Therefore, light needs to be taken much more seriously. The Irish Thalidomide Association is talking about how things are seen in very separate departments and this is one of the problems that has happened with light. Maybe it is seen as a product, like a kettle or a fridge, and we are regulating on those grounds, but it should be treated with the respect and care shown when we develop medicines because it affects every cell in the body. There is a big issue here of taking light more seriously. We cannot say how many are affected unless we qualify what we mean by affected. There is a significant body of people who are adversely affected and it is impacting on their quality of life. It is a big question of their human rights.

Could the design question be repeated? I was not sure which member asked it.