Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minster for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who regrets she cannot be here for this matter due to another commitment. On behalf of the Minister, I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this important matter here today and for giving me the opportunity to provide clarity on some issues. The question of deterring or delaying daylight saving time to wintertime is a complex one and one to which the Department of Justice has given careful consideration for some time. Deputy Stanton has always given this careful consideration as well.

Ireland is currently party to an EU-wide arrangement on this issue. In 2019, MEPs voted in favour of forgoing seasonal clock changes. There is, as a result of this vote, an ongoing proposal under discussion within the EU working party on transport for an EU directive to discontinue seasonal clock changes.

The European Commission's proposal would have particular implications for the island of Ireland, especially in the context of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. The Department of Justice sought to understand the potential impact of the Commission's proposal before reaching a conclusive decision. It is important to be mindful of the long-term consequences that such a change would amount to in people's daily lives. With that, a wide-ranging public survey, stakeholder engagement and a public-opinion poll were conducted in the context of developing Ireland's position on this proposal.

The results of the Department of Justice's detailed consultations demonstrated that abolishing seasonal clock changes could negatively affect the lives of many. It was discovered that the overwhelming majority of respondents would not be in favour of any change that would result in two time zones on the island of Ireland, which would inevitably lead to increased difficulties for business and the general public. It is vital that undue barriers to trade are not erected by changes in policy and this was communicated clearly by the public during the consultation process.

More generally, in the context of the EU proposal, Ireland's position along with that of a number of other member states has reflected concern that the proposal could reduce synchronicity and result in a patchwork of time zones across the EU, thereby causing unnecessary confusion in the Single Market.

Ireland has supported a call for a full impact assessment of this proposal to be carried out prior to any final decisions being made at EU level. We will await the conclusions of such an assessment and further decisions made by the EU Commission before reaching a resolution.

The Deputy makes some very pertinent arguments. The argument would be much stronger if the United Kingdom had not voted for Brexit, but these are problems we face on the island of Ireland. On a positive point, I live in the west of Ireland where we normally have a little more rain than on the east coast but, as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle would understand, we have ten minutes extra in the evening. Sometimes it is a joy to behold and people living on the east and south coasts miss out on it.

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