Daylight saving time is no longer needed by farmers, but more sunlight benefits everyone, writes Brian O'Connell
With the clocks going forward one hour at midnight 1am, the man we should all thank for an hour less in bed in the morning is a little-known British builder who lived more than a century ago.
William Willett was out for a pre-breakfast horse-ride in the English countryside in 1905 when he saw the light, or lack of it, as the case may be. Feeling frustrated at having to cut short his rounds of golf at dusk, he put pen to paper and published a pamphlet entitled The Waste of Daylight. In it, he highlighted not only the financial advantages of moving the clocks forward one hour, but also the philosophical: "Light is one of the great gifts of the Creator. While daylight surrounds us, cheerfulness reigns, anxieties press less heavily and courage is bred for the struggle of life."
Willett set about influencing the law to reflect his observations, yet his attempts would surely have failed were it not for the start of the first World War. As war raged in Europe, the British Parliament passed the Summer Time Act, with the US quickly following suit. This added extra daylight hours to help replace costly artificial light, thus saving precious fuel needed for the war. Ireland was co-opted into the arrangement four months later, through the Time (Ireland) Act. Its purpose was to "assimilate the time adopted for use in Ireland to that adopted for use in Great Britain".
Yet not everyone was comfortable with the assimilation. In a debate in the Seanad in 1949, Sen Patrick Cogan best illustrated opposition to the arrangement when he stated: "I think we ought to assert our independence in this matter. We have, so to speak, kicked the British Crown into the Irish Sea. Why not kick the English clock into the Irish Sea also and adopt our own time here?"
According to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Ireland has no immediate plans to change our Daylight Saving Time (DST) structure, and feels it only right that we should be in line with the UK, given our close proximity. Indeed any change in our DST would require a change at EU level, given that the scheduling of EU summer time is now governed by EU law. This follows a directive, introduced in 2002, aimed at harmonising the timing of summer and winter changes, thereby ensuring that time differences did not expand or contract between individual member states at differing times during the year, which could have obvious disruptive effects for the internal market. For now it seems we will continue to "spring forward and fall back", with clocks put back one hour the last Sunday in October and brought forward the last Sunday in March.
Yet, at a time when energy conservation is high on the agenda, other countries are beginning to re-examine their daylight saving policy. A 2005 motion passed by the US Senate moved the introduction of DST from the first Sunday in April to the second Sunday in March, thus allowing for longer days earlier in the year.
One of those who advised on this shift was American scientist Dr David Prerau, author of Saving the Daylight; Why We Put the Clocks Forward. Despite the common perception, Dr Prerau argues that DST is not in any way connected to farming practices. Quite the reverse, in fact: "Historically, the one group who have been consistently opposed to the move are farmers. This is true if you look back to when it was first proposed in the British parliament. The main reason was because farmers couldn't utilise the added hour. They had to go by the sun regardless of what the clock said, while everything else was working from daylight saving time. For example, if they wanted to go into town after work they would be an hour behind."
Changed farm practices have also negated the impact of DST, with few farmers having to deliver their produce and more advanced machinery allowing farmers work longer and later. Therefore, DST has become less of an issue for the agriculture sector in recent times.
So if changing the clock is of no benefit to the farming community, why do we persist with the practice at all? "Well, there are many benefits of DST, one of the main ones being to conserve energy. In the past this was certainly the case - during both World Wars, for instance. Yet it's not just a historical factor. The change in DST in the US came about with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, so that energy is still a major factor." Another benefit of DST is a reduction in road and traffic accidents, argues Dr Prerau. Given that our roads are very active after 5pm, more light in the evenings can naturally help reduce accidents. Coupled with this, studies have also shown that more evening light can have an impact on reducing instances of crime.
Aside from the practical benefits though, there is also the lifestyle factor. "The most important reason for time change is lifestyle," says Dr Prerau. "Most people prefer an extra hour of light in the evening rather than the morning. It's more usable at night." Dr Prerau argues that Ireland should start considering moving to summer hours earlier in March, given the US experience.
"I would say that the US extension seems to work. Certainly, studies show no negative effects so far. It is something Ireland and the rest of Europe should look at. I don't think you'll find too many people arguing about a little more daylight in their lives."