Fine Gael Cork East TD David Stanton has suggested that Irish households could save up to €400 a year on energy bills if the clocks don't go back, the Irish Times reports.
Speaking at the Dáil on Wednesday, the TD said that multiple reports have been carried out in Ireland and internationally about the impact and benefits of ending or delaying clock changes for daylight saving.
Stanton cited research by Professor Aoife Foley of Queen’s University Belfast School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, which suggests that households could save anywhere between €250 and €400 if the clocks don't go back, because of lower demand on the national grid between peak times of 5pm and 7pm.
Addressing the Dáil, Stanton said that
everything had to be done to reduce energy consumption. “One argument is that it be done by not moving the clocks. Another is that the moving of them be deferred", he said.
The clocks in Ireland are scheduled to be moved back next Sunday, October 30th, while in the US, they won't change until 6th November.
Stanton said:
"We could do more than that. We could move the clocks in the spring in early February and, again, a bit later at this time of the year.
“The fact of the matter is that approximately 12 days from now, winter will have arrived. The clocks will go back one hour and we will have dark evenings. One week from now, sunset will be at 6.20pm and two weeks from now, it will be dark just after 5pm".
He also cited the many arguments which have been made over the years for not changing the clocks, including "benefits for road safety, the benefit to tourism of having brighter evenings and shopping, retail, farming and recreation”.
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