Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept that and note that it has posed its own problems. A different time zone would create much greater problems given that there is so much trade between Britain and Ireland. It has been suggested to me that the level of trade we do with the United States of America would be affected. It is not as significant an issue and I am sure they would get over it. However, many large multinationals have bases here and work around the five-hour time difference. To change that to place us out of sync with the UK and North of Ireland has the potential to impact negatively and we have not seen what the potential benefits might be.

That is our view. The United Kingdom is our closest trading partner with strong connections in the time-sensitive financial sector and Northern Ireland is an intrinsic part of the life of the island and cannot be separated in an artificial way based on time. Separating the island into two separate areas would be unsustainable given that it would have a disproportionate impact on communities in the Border region which are inextricably bound together across economic and social spheres. We are all familiar with people who live along the Border. They travel north and south to work. The farcical notion of trying to change the clock or watch as they travel three or four miles over the road is unsustainable.

I find it difficult to oppose Deputy Broughan's Bill because he has put forward a good case, but the practicalities of the proposition in practice are such that it would make life more difficult for some sectors of society. I do not see the potential gain on the other side although I take the point in respect of the increased retail opportunities.

I have no wish to be overly political but I believe the difficulties in the retail sector at the moment have more to do with where the economy is than whether people have an opportunity to get out to shop. I recall that during the better times, the boom times, stores stayed open 24 hours, seven days a week and facilitated people shopping if they wished to. It is not a lack of daylight that is preventing the retail sector from thriving but a lack of money, unfortunately. I do not believe that this measure of itself would or should be enough for us to move in that way.

There would be some unforeseen consequences as well. The benefits of extending daylight hours in the darkness of winter are all too attractive to Irish people who are used to the protracted darkness of the winter months, but shifting the time forward one hour could potentially have unforeseen consequences which would outweigh the benefits to which Deputy Broughan has referred. The alleged reduction in road accidents fails to take account of the impact of the reduced light in the morning rush-hour and its inevitable consequences. Many in the House often find themselves on the road early in the morning. During the better times there was, to the surprise of some, a considerable level of activity before lighting-up time in the morning. A large cohort of people would be affected by the proposed change and this could have the potential for the negative consequences to which I have referred. Expanding the hours of darkness in the morning would increase the risk of accidents in the morning, especially on the daily school run when vulnerable children are crossing our streets. I have already referred to the impact in rural areas where there are no streetlights. The benefits to retail footfall and for amenities may be overstated because, regardless of the time, the number of sunlight hours are limited to seven or eight at that time. Therefore, playing around with this via the time zone will yield limited benefits.

For these reasons we are not in a position to support the Bill. However, we recognise the importance of at least having a debate on these issues and having them thrashed out. If the change were carried out based on a review of the time zones generally throughout the globe then some changes could be considered, but without our nearest neighbour or a broad-based European analysis of the time zones as they work around Greenwich mean time I believe it would be unwise to proceed.

I will not suggest to the Minister how he may wish to take Second Stage or whether he will allow the Bill to remain on the Statute Book. I do not believe that would necessarily cause any major problems, but I believe it is important not to proceed with the enactment of the legislation until there is a broader debate at European level.

See this speech in context