Limerick people to put clocks go forward Sunday, but practice to be abolished  by 2021

THE clocks go forward an hour at 2am this coming Sunday, but according to Seán Kelly, MEP, we will not be doing it for very long more.  

“The end is in sight for scrapping the clock change,” Mr Kelly said this week after the European Parliament voted by a large majority to abolish the twice-yearly clock change in 2021.

But it will be up to each member state to decide whether to stick to summer time or winter time.

The move has also been welcomed by Deirdre Clune, another Ireland South MEP who said that Ireland must decide on summer or winter time  by April 1 next year.

She was she said “very much in favour” of the move but stressed that measures need to be put in place.  

“Should significant problems arise, for example with timetables in the transport sector or flight schedules for airlines, the EU Commission has the possibility to trigger a 12-month delay of the legislation in order to change it to deal with the problems,” Ms  Clune explained.

Mr Kelly has heralded the European Parliament vote as a good example of listening to the voice of the people. Over 4.5m people responded to an EU-wide public consultation on daylight savings time last year, the highest number ever. 

“Having worked on this issue for a number of years, I am convinced that now is the time to take this step. Studies have shown that the disruption caused by the clock change has a detrimental impact on our health,” Mr Kelly said.