Tonight Irish households gain an extra hour’s sleep as the clocks go back and winter time begins. The lie-in is welcome, but the shift in sunrise and sunset has grown controversial.
The European Parliament voted to scrap the twice-yearly change in 2019, but member states could not agree on a replacement. Spain revived the issue last year. Brussels has commissioned a study due by December, and 44 MEPs have urged ministers to break the deadlock. The US House voted in July for permanent summer time, but the bill has stalled in the Senate. Canada has moved faster, with British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba among provinces abandoning the change this year, creating a patchwork of time differences.
Popular opinion and much health advice favour ending the ritual. The division is over which time to keep. Sleep experts say permanent winter time better suits the body’s circadian rhythms, while business lobbies want brighter evenings. Among them is Donald Trump, who complained in Ohio this month that golfers were being forced off the course after 14 holes.
Trump was echoing those who run his favourite sport. The PGA Tour’s boss had recently written seeking more afternoon light. Setting clocks to suit one sport would be curious. Against that, permanent summer time would mean sunrise in Donegal close to 10am in late December.
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No arrangement pleases everyone. The change brings little benefit in the far north and none near the equator. Longitude matters as much as latitude. Spain uses Central European Time, thanks to Franco’s alignment with Berlin, though most of it lies west of Greenwich, and Madrid has signalled it would probably keep winter time.
Ireland, on its time zone’s western fringe, has it harder still. Bizarrely, MEP Seán Kelly has suggested moving to Central European Time. Dublin’s priority will be avoiding two time zones on the island if Britain does not follow the EU. Most likely, the Earth will keep orbiting the sun and political inertia will ensure nothing changes, as sure as night follows day.
