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Over 80% of Irish people would rather stay in summer time if the clocks stop changing twice a year

The European Parliament voted last week in favour of abolishing seasonal time changes.

THE VAST MAJORITY of Irish people would favour spending the year in summer time if Ireland scraps Daylight Savings Time, a new poll has revealed. 

The Claire Byrne Live and TheJournal.ie poll, carried out by Amárach Research, found that 81% of respondents would prefer summer time year round, rather than winter time. 

The European Parliament voted last week in favour of abolishing seasonal time changes. 

Summertime arrangements in the EU require clocks to be changed twice per year to cater for the changing patterns of daylight and to take advantage of the available light.

If the planned change goes through, that will no longer happen and Europe will stick with the same time all year round. 

It means that in 2021 we could put our clocks forward, as we’re used to, at the end of March, but then stick with that time into the future without switching back in October. 

Ireland and other member states are being given a period of 12 months to decide if they’ll stay on summer time or not.

The matter has already been put out to public consultation in Ireland, with Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan saying he is open to the idea of scrapping clock changes.

Staying on summer time – rather than winter time – will mean longer evenings than we’re used to in winter, but it will also mean that it will remain darker for longer in the winter mornings.

Only 19% of people surveyed said that they would prefer to stay in winter time. However, sleep expert Dr Annie Curtis of the RCSI TheJournal.ie that from a health point of view, permanent wintertime would be preferable.  

We delved into the issue a lot more in our most recent episode of the Explainer podcast:

You can listen wherever you get your podcasts or via SoundCloud below – you can also head straight to iTunesSpotifyAcastPodBeanPodcast Republic, and Stitcher
https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/is-ireland-getting-rid-of-daylight-savings-time/s-SDAmM

With reporting from Daragh Bropy

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    Mute Motherofthree
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 6:17 AM

    Did they vote with the information on sunrise and sunset over both time zones? Permanent summer time w9uld be brilliant in summer, but in winter it would be dark till after 9. So school kids would be walking to school in pitch black. That would be terrible.

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    Mute Jane Alford
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 6:46 AM

    @Motherofthree: Kids no longer walk to school.

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    Mute joe
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:24 AM

    @Jane Alford: yes they do! I see them
    every day!

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    Mute Sos
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:36 AM

    @Jane Alford: Mine do. Depends on close you are to the school.

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    Mute Peter Carroll
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:36 AM

    @joe: How? It’s dark.

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    Mute Anthony
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:06 AM

    @Motherofthree: makes no difference as they’ll be walking home in the dark otherwise.

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    Mute System Halted
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:09 AM

    @Motherofthree: change school start times to 10am ?

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    Mute Jumperoo
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:36 AM

    @Anthony: what time does school finish at where you live??? Primary school finishes at 2.40 pm here, and secondary school at 4 pm. Still bright enough until 4.30 to 5 pm, even in the depths of December.

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 9:37 AM

    @Anthony: Makes all the difference, be nearly 10am before sunrise in December, up from 7am in the three coldest hours of the night. No comparison to the first hour of darkness after the warming of the day.

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    Mute chris foley
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 10:14 AM

    @Jane Alford: yes they do

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    Mute Daniel Murray
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 10:33 AM

    @Motherofthree: But it would give them more time to be outside in the evenings, time they can actually enjoy and not spent getting ready for school.

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    Mute liam ward60
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 6:16 AM

    Again nobody from theses two polls contacted me or people I know.has anybody else been polled I wonder? Must be the same people that’s been polled all the time

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    Mute Wayne Whitty
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:57 AM

    @liam ward60: Stop the presses lads, the poll is illegitimate because Liam wasn’t asked and he doesn’t understand sampling methods.

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    Mute liam ward60
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:04 AM

    @Wayne Whitty: I’ve never been asked in any poll going down through the years as I said same people been polled all the time must be

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    Mute Wayne Whitty
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:07 AM

    @liam ward60: I used to think that until I got polled last January. It’s random for a reason. Selecting people wouldn’t give an accurate result.

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    Mute James Moore
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 9:53 AM

    @liam ward60: they must be the same people who win the top lottery prizes

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    Mute Shona Keating
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 12:01 PM

    @liam ward60: I wasn’t polled but I did complete the government survey mentioned in the article. That original survey was advertised on the journal

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    Mute Radioska
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 6:57 AM

    Why don’t they just meet in the middle and put the clocks back/forward 30mins and leave it at that.

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    Mute Iarla Ó
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:21 AM

    @Radioska: this would be the best of both worlds. I’m amazed it’s not being considered.

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    Mute Fachtna Roe
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:13 AM

    What percentage of the 80% understood what they were being asked about, and the health implications of each option?

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    Mute Hugh Jass
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:24 AM

    @Fachtna Roe: Enlighten us

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    Mute Ian McNally
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:43 AM

    @Fachtna Roe: there are no health implications to keeping on summer time, there are actual real health implications of changing clocks twice every year though

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    Mute Conor Egan
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:46 AM

    @Ian McNally: what about our internal body clocks. They are reset daily with sunlight. If we stay on summertime the sun won’t rise until approx 9:40. This surely can’t be good for our health.

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    Mute Jim
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 11:55 PM

    @Conor Egan: but if we stay on wintertime then during summer you’ll end up with the sun rising at 4am.

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    Mute Barry Somers
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 6:15 AM

    Time to scrap this time change nonsense.

    And before the likes of Healy-rae come out with nonsense about how it was brought in to help farmers, it has nothing to do with farmers.

    The clock change was first brought in by the Germans as a fuel saving measure in WW1, the English then copied it which meant Ireland also ended up with it.

    In this day and age the hour change has no meaningful benefit when it comes to energy usage.

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    Mute joe
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:27 AM

    @Barry Somers: yes it does! In the summer it will get dark an hour earlier if we stay in wintertime. That means lights will go on one hour earlier than currently. As it gets bright so early the morning there would be no corresponding loss.
    If we were to stay on summertime look forward to starting work in the dark in the winter.

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    Mute Gavin Morrissey
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:59 AM

    @joe: Most people start work in the dark in winter time already…

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    Mute Wayne Whitty
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:00 AM

    @joe: I don’t mind going to work in the dark as long as it isn’t dark by 5PM. Leaving work in the dark for the better part of six months is rotten.

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    Mute Jumperoo
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:39 AM

    @joe: but in the winter mornings, you’d have to keep the lights on an hour longer. And that includes lights in all office blocks and other workplaces that wouldn’t need lights on st say 10 pm in summer. So that way would actually use up a lot more energy.

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 9:50 AM

    @Barry Somers: Except permanent summertime will make daylight savings time permanent not scrap it. You are not gaining daylight just giving an hour to the coldest time before dawn and away from the warmest time. It means we will working 1hr and 30mins+ ahead of our correct solar time and our body clocks. Ever heard of jet lag? It’s grand as it is.

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    Mute Niall Moran
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:43 AM

    The fact that the options are labeled as ‘summer time’ and ‘winter time’ is likely to be a factor leading to the significant majority. Similar to how most would rather go on holidays in South Dakota than North Dakota just because the word south has positive associations

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 10:09 AM

    @Niall Moran: Yes, spotted that, which would you choose winter or summer if you had a choice, thinking all along there’s a hidden agenda here. Even the scrapping daylights savings time is misleading. Who’s benefitting?

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    Mute Ian McNally
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:46 AM

    Summertime is the only logical option, sticking with winter time would mean we are giving away an hour of useable daylight during the summer

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    Mute Linda FitzGerald
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:33 AM

    If one works outdoors and needs daylight to work, eg farmers, park rangers, council workers, in winter you may not be able to start work until an hour later than you currently do. That means finishing an hour later. This was an issue when this was last tried.

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    Mute Ian McNally
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:44 AM

    @Linda FitzGerald: it was last tried over 30 years ago the number of people in the categories you talk about that would be affected have vastly reduced across the board

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    Mute Paraic
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:55 AM

    @Linda FitzGerald: Farmers keep being brought up as justification. Of all people, farmers care the least. They just go by sunlight. If they need to be up an hour before dawn for some reason, they just do that. They’re not going to be docked wages for not clocking in at an exact time. And animals go by solar time. If anything, it would disrupt their circadian rythym if farmers were to be suddenly rigid about following their timepieces. Cows in a routine for milking for example, wouldn’t appreciate a sudden overnight delay of one hour.

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 10:00 AM

    @Ian McNally: Plenty of people go outside to work still, and of course there are the schoolchildren. Leave it alone, don’t the people crying for change realise it’s just 7hrs daylight if that, in dreary wet Ireland in the depths of winter

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    Mute Paraic
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 11:32 AM

    @Jointheclubtoo: The issue is not, trying to make the days magically longer in winter Winter daytime will always be short. It’s the disruption of the biannual changing of the clocks that is a problem. Shift workers have to work 13 hours or 11 instead of the normal 12. Clocks in PCs and vehicles have to be adjusted.Toddlers and younger school going children have their sleep pattern disrupted and are jetlagged for a few days…

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 11:55 AM

    @Paraic: Changing the clock is no big deal, but you’ll find most health, disruption, and accident problems are at the bringing the clock forward end, to a time 1 1/2 hours ahead of our true solar time. If we were to stay on one time it should be GMT aka winter time.

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    Mute Lisa Dorothy
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:39 AM

    So they want it to be dark until 9.40am? Crazy.

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    Mute Penny Lane
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:02 AM

    @Lisa Dorothy: it’s crazy. People are picturing sunny winter days. It’s not. It’ll be dark dark dark!

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    Mute Wayne Whitty
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:02 AM

    @Lisa Dorothy: Better dark til 9.40am than dark after 4.40pm

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    Mute Lisa Dorothy
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 9:03 AM

    @Wayne Whitty: I would rather get the bit of daylight on my way into work. I won’t see any at all in December if we stay on Summertime.

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    Mute Penny Lane
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:59 AM

    So 80% people want a darker and longer winter ( approx 6 weeks longer?)

    I don’t think people realise how dark the winter mornings will be. And how much busier as people drive because they dintvwant to walk in the pitch black.

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    Mute Wayne Whitty
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:05 AM

    @Penny Lane: I’d rather it be dark in the mornings than pitch black by 5PM. The people complaining about dark mornings must have half days or something because leaving work in the dark for months on end is depressing.

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    Mute Humphrey Harold Haddington
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:55 AM

    @Wayne Whitty: probably government employees that dont want to start work at 9 am when its a bit darkish.

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    Mute brendan H
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 9:04 AM

    @Penny Lane: Winter is the same length no matter what you do to a clock.

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 6:48 AM

    We could change our clocks to Berlin time and it be still dark here in Ireland and bright in Berlin.
    There are 24 lines of Meridan which takes 1 hour to compllete so 24x 15 =360 which is the earth rotating.
    If you get up early enough and look to the West the sky be still dark yet bright in the East.

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    Mute Todd Unctuous
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:03 AM

    @Dave Byrne: Hence different time zones. Nothing to do with day light savings

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    Mute Peter Carroll
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:59 AM

    @Todd Unctuous: Using Irish Winter time that puts Dublin about 23 minutes behind solar time and Bantry about 35 minutes behind. The most sensible decision is go with so called winter time all the year round. We could, of course, go for laughs and move winter time back half an hour and stick with that. What price the border then!

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    Mute Penny Lane
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 8:01 AM

    @Peter Carroll: agreed. I hope we take winter time. That would be perfect.

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    Mute Del Bear
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 9:58 AM

    I think this question is gonna split the country into the early risers and the night owls.. I’m personally an evening person who would rather an extra hour of light in the evening. It’s often still dark anyway when I’m going to work in Winter, especially if it’s cloudy.

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    Mute Kev Barnes
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 6:55 AM

    Stay in summer?

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    Mute Steve B
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 12:26 PM

    I’m pretty sure that most people just voted for “Summer” because it sounds warmer! In my opinion, we’d be better off having the extra daylight in the morning when people are commuting to work and school, especially for schoolchildren.

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    Mute Juan Fangio
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 9:33 AM

    And the UK who’ll be out of the EU when the change takes place have said that they’ll be leaving time change as is. That’ll be even more fun at the border.

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    Mute thomas patrick
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 11:11 AM

    Winter time would be better.
    It stays bright late enough in summer. But brighter mornings all year is better…
    That being said, if the option is stay with summer time or continue to change twice a year, then staying with summer is still better

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    Mute Nina Wallenius
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 5:06 PM

    Summertime please, so that we have a bit of light to be outside when getting home from work. In the morning it is dark anyway.

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    Mute Daniel Murray
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 10:31 AM

    No such thing as “summer time”. It’s just the time. Daylight saving is the winter months between the one hour switches. So lets just get rid of daylight saving and leave the time as it truly is.

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 12:00 PM

    @Daniel Murray: Wrong, Daylight Savings is Central European Time aka summertime.

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    Mute Laura Clayton
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 12:16 PM

    @Daniel Murray: getting rid of daylight saving would leave us on wintertime. That’s what I voted for. Staying on summertime won’t work

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    Mute Ibhar Mac Suibhne
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 12:12 PM

    Winter time is actually more closely suited to our natural sleep cycle….summer time sounds good

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    Mute Ajax Penumbra
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 7:53 AM

    Maybe the best opt

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    Mute Paul Riordan
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    Apr 3rd 2019, 5:22 PM

    At least the clock in my car is right again

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    Mute anthony o cathain
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    Apr 4th 2019, 3:47 PM

    No/brainer.: whatever UK decides, do opposite

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