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IN 2019, THE European Parliament voted in favour of abolishing seasonal time changes by a proposed date of 2021.
That year has obviously arrived, but disagreements at state level in the EU have put the plan on pause for the moment. In case you have forgotten, the time is set to go forward an hour from tonight in Ireland and across the EU.
Let’s take a look back at what happened in 2019, and what the current situation is with the plan.
What was agreed in 2019?
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favour of scrapping seasonal time changes by a margin of 410 to 192 on 26 March 2019.
Under this agreed proposal, which does not yet have legal effect, the twice-yearly changes would stop from 2021.
However, disagreements at state level on whether to remain in summer or wintertime, and disagreements about the removal of the time changes, have stalled the process.
After the 2019 agreement, Ireland and other member states were given a period of 12 months to decide if they would stay on summertime or not.
The government here agreed in July 2019 to oppose the EU proposal on the basis that it could result in two different time zones on the island of Ireland after the UK left the EU.
What is the current situation?
Speaking to The Journal, Fine Gael MEP Deirdre Clune said the proposal “isn’t advancing at this point” and has been stalled. Clune has long advocated for abolishing time changes in the EU and wants countries to stay in summertime year-round.
“Parliament agreed with [the proposal] and we voted for it, but member states had to agree and there was division there,” she said.
It hasn’t advanced because it has been stalled by differing opinions at state level.
“They did a consultation at European and national level and they were amazed at the response to it. People overwhelmingly want to stop the time changes.”
An EU consultation on scrapping the seasonal clock changes, completed in 2018, found that 84% of respondents supported the move. In this poll, nearly 90% of Irish respondents supported getting rid of the changes.
The top reasons for abolishing the switch were the health benefits of doing away with the twice-yearly time shift, energy savings and allowing more time for evening leisure activities.
As mentioned earlier, the government has agreed not to support this proposal.
The former Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said at the time that it would be “profoundly serious” to have two different time zones on the island.
The Department of Justice held consultations and analysis on the proposal through an opinion poll, a public survey and submissions from stakeholder groups.
The opinion poll, conducted by Amárach Research, found that two-thirds of people supported scrapping the seasonal time changes, with 77% preferring summertime.
It also found that 82% of respondents would not be in favour of any measure that results in two different time zones on the island.
A statement from the Department of Justice said Ireland’s position has “reflected concern that the proposal could reduce synchronicity and result in a ‘patchwork’ of time zones across the EU”.
“The EU Commission’s proposal would have particular implications for the island of Ireland, especially in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union,” the statement said.
It said the country supports a call for a “full impact assessment” of the proposal to be carried out before a final decision is reached.
The current Justice Minister Helen McEntee was asked about the issue in September last year, saying the government has made the European Commission “aware of the difficulties the proposed directive would cause in Ireland if it were to result in two time zones in this island”.
“We have opposed the introduction of the proposed directive on this basis,” the minister said.
In a statement on Friday evening, McEntee said that “this year, more than ever, we are all keen to put the short days and dark evenings of winter behind us”.
“The clocks moving forward marks the point when we can move on from winter and look towards summer.
The winter of 2020-2021 has been the hardest in living memory, but the summer of 2021 will be one of hope, as we begin to overcome Covid-19, re-open our society and economy and move on with our lives.
So what next?
MEP Deirdre Clune said she doesn’t think the issue will be addressed much this year.
She said it would require “some level of co-ordination” to get all states to agree on either summertime or wintertime.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said: “The ball is now in the Member States’ court as it is up to them to find a common position in Council.”
“The Commission proposed to end the seasonal clock changes in September 2018. The proposal followed requests from citizens and Member States, a resolution by the European Parliament, a number of conducted studies, as well as a public consultation.
Following an assessment of the existing arrangement on seasonal clock changes, the Commission came to the conclusion that, while avoiding fragmentation, Member States are best placed to decide on whether they want to keep permanent summer- or wintertime.
When were the seasonal time change arrangements brought in?
According to the European Commission, summertime arrangements were introduced in the 20th century to save energy.
Since 2001, EU summertime arrangements have fallen under a directive which obliges all member states to put the clocks forward an hour on the last Sunday of March and to put them back an hour on the last Sunday of October.
If countries chose summertime, we would have brighter evenings all year round but in winter, mornings would be darker that our current winter mornings.
This is a consideration in particular for children who would be going to school in the dark on winter mornings and also commuters heading to work.
But there are benefits as there is an extra daylight hour for outdoor activities in the evenings.
If countries chose wintertime, we would have brighter mornings than we do now for work and school commutes, but our summer evenings would be shorter.
The UK has no great desire to shift the way it observes time. Any directive approved would not apply to them and as a result Ireland may be left out of kilter with the North and the rest of the UK for half the year.
This throws up a range of potential complications for communities, farms, businesses and transport operators in the border region and beyond.
Who has the final call on this?
The final decision lies with the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
They will have to reach an agreement together for the proposal to take legal effect, and the council has not yet finalised its position.
The Council’s final decision will be made on the basis of what’s called Qualified Majority Voting.
That means that if 55% of countries representing at least 65% of the population of the EU want this to happen – even if the remaining countries vote against – all countries have to go along with it.
The Journal previously took an in-depth look at this topic in a 2019 episode of the Explainer podcast.
You can listen back to it wherever you get your podcasts, or via SoundCloud below.
https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/is-ireland-getting-rid-of-daylight-savings-time
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Well done Charlie. Another boost for economic migrants,welfare tourists etc. We are a great little country
@Leo Lalor: most Irish citazens returning home to live here with their foreign wives/husband’s are actually highly skilled. Also the government for once is sorting out immigration paths for those impacted by brexit. Absolutely it will need to be policed properly but it’s making the immigration policy fairer.
@Leo Lalor: you seem to have missed the part where these ‘migrants’ will be working and paying tax. We have an extreme skills shortage in many sectors in Ireland. By your logic all Irish people should only partner with their own kind and if not feck off to their partners country to work. Would that make the Irish person an economic migrant and welfare tourist then? oh it’s so confusing when you put the shoe on the other foot. Oh I get it now there is no logic just prejudice.
@seanmccann: Exactly and having to go through a similar process myself there are plenty of checks carried out for both the applicant and their spouse. It’s not the “one for everybody in the audience” type of thing that some people believe it to be.
@Leo Lalor: The Irish partner will have to show evidence that they can financially support the non eu partner. Over the last 10 years, they were pretty strict on this
@seanmccann: ” Also the government for once is sorting out immigration paths for those impacted by brexit. ”
Brexit has nothing to do with it really.
If an Irish citizen was over in the UK, they are exercising their EU Treaty Rights. While we can not normally use EU Free movement rights while in Ireland (and thus have to rely on Irish immigration law, which has its issues) , in this case, where the Irish person returns to Ireland, after spending 1-2 years in the UK (6 months might suffice), with their non EU partner/spouse, they can invoke EU law.
Why does that matter? Better protections. EU law give the Irish government SFA discretion. You meet the conditions, boom, you get a decision which should be successful and entitled to a quick decision (well, that is what EU says) . Relying on Irish law, a lot of discretion is afforded.
@Leo Lalor: Leo, I’d be grateful if you could share with us how to take advantage of the welfare system without first working, paying tax, paying PRSI etc. You seem to be in the know. Even free dental work would be sufficient. Thanks
@Christy Dolan: look at what Boris is doing with residencey rights in the UK. Many Irish citazens are going to choose to leave as their residencey is no longer gauerenteed. Join the dots.
@LittleBee: and so many on the take little bee. As for logic I never mentioned stick with your own. Open your eyes. Look at the social welfare immigration lawyers bills and housing and accommodation bills for these spongers. I have no problem with people who contribute to our economy. I have a problem with being hammered by the tax man to pay for people who won’t work and no matter what s done for them find fault. We are fools.
@Leo Lalor: totally missing the point again. This is referring to the partners of Irish people who want to return home to work and is specifically so the non EU partner can work as soon as they get here where previously they had to be supported by their Irish partner for up to a year. They cannot claim any benefits as they are non eu in fact they cannot even be considered as a dependent of the Irish individual if they were to claim benefits because our system only considers the income of a de facto partner for means testing but not for the payment of benefits. You know what else is a drain on society …tax evasion and high earners with hot shot accountants finding all the loop holes. But like your arguement that has diddly squat to do with the actual topic in the article.
That’s absolutely brilliant news, if it turns out to be as good as it sounds. At present the most suitable place for me and my Brazilian partner is Australia. We both have PR and enjoy our time here however while I respect the rules etc and understand the need for checks and balances, the thought of coming home to apply and being the sole earner for one year was taking the piss. It was a big off putter on me deciding to come home. This is a big change. Most welcome. I’m sure there’s plenty of us out there who welcome the efficiency.
Why does our government feel the need to have such an open door policy toward immigration?
@Pat Baker: because sometimes people who aren’t from the same country fall in love and get married and they should be allowed to live in the same country as each other. Should we all just never leave the country and never let anyone in and only let Irish people marry other Irish people?
@Sam Harms: Absolutely agree. But it needs to be policed properly to prevent abuse. In many industries worker are internationally mobile. If Irish citizens want to come back home then they and their families should be welcome. I was in a generation where many had to leave to find opportunities to work. Most of these people learned valuable skills and their return to the country enabled the high tech economy. Having seen the hoops they had to jump through to get visas for their spouses was rediclous. It was practically anti family. Also this legislation is coming in as a result of brexit.
@Pat Baker: Its not an open door policy it’s called preclearence. The procedure is the same but the checks are done before you enter the country meaning you have permission to work before you get here or even have a job lined up. It is simply removing the financial burden of waiting a year to get your working visa. It means partners of returning Irish can work and pay tax as soon as they get here. Why would you be opposed to that.
@Sam Harms: ignore him.
@Pat Baker: It’s a sensible policy for realistic scenarios and it’s not the open door policy that you’re making it out to be. There’s plenty of information that would need to be provided for the application to be successful such as proof of a relationship, proof of living together…
@LittleBee: he’s opposed to it because some people see the word “immigration” and the racist, intolerant, bigot switch turns on. They can’t see past that to look at the positive impact that immigrants have on a country, like bringing new skills, paying into the tax system etc.
@Sam Harms: It is so tiresome
@Pat Baker: It is NOT an open door policy. There is pre clearance required. You have to prove the relationship and you have to prove financial ability to support partner.
Before this, you had to apply for a visa for the Non EU spouse (who might need to visa) simply to enter the country. That can take 2-4 months, maybe more. Sometimes you need to appeal.
Once they enter, they then have to make a residency application, which can take anything from 1 week to months.
This scheme seeks to do all in one go, before they come, before they risk over staying after the visa expired.
They still need to prove that they are a legitimate relationship. It is an Irish person bringing home their family member. Hardly the same as some scam artist “asylum seeker” from a safe country .
@Pat Baker: I’m not aware of the government having an open door policy towards immigration, but one reason I can think of, is the various benefits that immigration brings to the country.
In many cases immigrants are already highly educated and highly skilled, as as such help contribute to our skills shortage. Also being highly skilled, and thus highly paid, they’ll also be highly taxed…
@Pat Baker: you mean like the ones that absorbed millions of Irish emigrants over the centuries?
I’ve experience with INIS and there’s no grey area if your papers are not in order forget about a visa.
@Marianne:Has Regina decided whether they need the PSC to apply for the passport?
Anything possible of diluting the anti fg voters who are a rock of sense and are sick of the waste of tax payers money and multiple scandals
Great news. This would have been a not insignificant deterrent to Irish expats who wanted to return home.
Great news. Lot of Irish groups abroad have worked hard for this to be considered. Lot of us Irish have great partners from around the world we met while working abroad, who are highly educated and see Ireland as a good option to raise a family at some stage. No doubt so many can contribute greatly to our communities. This removes some doubts about any move home. Having had my Canadian girlfriend visit home recently who comes from an immigrant family herself she got the greatest welcome from my closest family and friends I could have asked for. Sometimes I forgot how great people at home are. Bigots really are a minority and tend to act as keyboard warriors unfortunately I have to see here online. Some people just have no comprehension of change being positive
Very sensible move by the Government here. Will definitely help reduce the financial stress upon a couple moving back to Ireland where one of the couple is not an EU citizen.
Who makes these decisions
How long will this process take
@Marianne: you’d just have to meet the criteria and provide evidence if I understand correctly
The Irish partner has to be a CSEP holder, not just any one bringing their non EU partner home can apply. Very misleading article
@Caoimhín O Neill: My understanding of that link is that the csep holder is not Irish either and wants to bring their partner. Same as the Australian visa system.
What the journal is referring to is de facto partners of Irish citizens, who, as they are Irish, do not need any special status such as csep or visa to work here. Why would we only want Irish citizens to return if they held a csep?
@Caoimhín O Neill: the CSEP announcement is from April. This is separate by the looks: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/press-release-new-preclearance-process-to-be-introduced-to-help-non-eea-de-facto-partners-of-Irish
What about refugees from Brexit land?
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