David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this topical issue, which is quite topical because shortly we will change our clocks resulting in far darker evenings. It will be quite noticeable that winter has arrived with a vengeance. My proposal is that we examine this matter. I have been calling for this for a number of years, as has Senator Feargal Quinn and others. This matter is under the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality, which dates from the association with the Home Office in Britain, going back to when changes in clocks were first introduced in 1916 to allow farmers to work in the fields.

There are many benefits to considering this issue. In the United States, they have changed the daylight saving arrangements such that summer time rules will be in effect for an additional four weeks. A report from the US Department of Energy found that enough energy was saved to power 100,000 homes for over a year. There was also a decline in road accidents and pedestrian injuries and fatalities. Multiple investigations in the UK have also revealed benefits to changing summer time arrangements. In an experiment between 1968 and 1971, all clocks in the country remained at GMT plus one hour, resulting in a 3% reduction in the number of road deaths. Although there was an increase in Scotland because of darker mornings, overall 40 fewer people were killed or injured each year. Estimates also show that the move will boost tourism and create extra jobs, as well as reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption. The Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security of the last Dáil called for Ireland to adopt summer time all year round. If we implemented double summer time, we would improve business because we would be in line with the opening hours of businesses in the other 25 EU countries. There are many benefits to this measure, including improving road safety, reducing energy consumption, a reduction in crime, allowing children more time to play in the evenings and a reduction in obesity levels. I call on the Minister and the Government to initiate a discussion on the matter at EU level. All EU Governments must agree on this point. Last year, David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, raised this as an issue and his predecessor, Gordon Brown, had suggested a three-year trial period. This is a topical issue at this time of year as we are about to change times.

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