EC calls time on daylight saving

‘SPRING forward, fall back’ may soon be a thing of the past as Jean-Claude Juncker proposed ending seasonal clock changes across Europe in 2019.

The European Commission president declared ‘clock-changing must stop’ in yesterday’s address, a suggestion welcomed across Ireland.

Clocks shift twice a year, moving an hour between Irish Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time – but the energysaving practice is widely deemed outdated.

Mr Juncker said: ‘We all say in soap-box speeches that we want to be big on big things and small on small things.

‘But there is no applause when EU law dictates that Europeans have to change the clocks twice a year. The Commission is today proposing to change this. Clockchanging must stop.’ A public consultation this summer received 4.6million responses and showed 84% wanted to end seasonal clock changes.

The move would be even more popular here where a recent public study found 88% want to end the practice, with almost 80% saying they have a negative overall experience each year.

Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune said: ‘This really is an exercise from a bygone era that no longer serves a useful purpose.

‘There are many benefits to ending the process of changing the clocks each year such as improved outcomes for road safety and economic benefits. In addition, brighter evenings in winter would have a positive benefit for public health.’ The German Empire and Austria-Hungary introduced Daylight Saving Time in Europe on April 30, 1916, as a way of conserving coal during wartime.

DST became more common across Europe during the 1970s energy crisis when petrol shortages prompted countries to shift their clocks in an effort to save electricity.

Ireland’s clocks will go back an hour at 2am on Sunday, October 28, providing an extra hour’s sleep but heralding brighter mornings and darker evenings. Should the proposal go ahead, member states will decide themselves whether they live in permanent summer or winter time.

The EC’s proposal will now go to the European Parliament and Council for their agreement.