Ireland against EU clock switch - Time for change?

The Government is opposing an EU plan to end seasonal clock changes, saying it cannot agree to any move that could result in different time zones on the island of Ireland.

This is because the UK has already indicated that it intends to stay with daylight saving time, a system that was introduced in both Britain and Ireland in 1916 to save energy.

In March, the European Parliament voted to scrap the practice, after reviewing a report that showed it no longer saved energy and after approving scientific studies that link time changes to diseases of the cardiovascular or immune systems, because they interrupt biological cycles.

The Government’s position seems sensible, in the light of Brexit, but of even greater importance is the fear that this change could lead to a patchwork of time zones across the EU, with states on the same longitude free to choose different time zones.

If that is what the plan means then it should be opposed for that reason alone.

The pity of it is that there are good arguments for scrapping the current system.

A broader and more informed EU-wide debate is needed.