Vol. 39 No. 5
I move:—
That Seanad Éireann hereby approves of the Summer Time Order, 1951, made by the Minister for Justice under the Summer Time Act, 1925 (No. 8 of 1925).
The Order refers entirely to the dates at which summer time will be operative this year in the State.
As this Order just fixes the date of the coming into operation of summer time, and does not vary very much from year to year——
——and as Senator Counihan is away.
I do not wish to interrupt but I should like to make this statement so that everybody may be aware of the position. The period of summer time fixed by the Order is from the 15th April to the 21st October. If the Order did not come into force, summer time this year would be from the 22nd April to the 7th October.
The purpose of the Order is to synchronise the period of summer time here with the period fixed for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A similar Order has been made each year since the war began. The Orders were not necessary before the war, because the same period of summer time was fixed permanently both here and in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Since then, however, the British have varied their period of summer time, and, generally speaking, corresponding changes have been made in this country.
Some people undoubtedly dislike the summer time system, but that is not a question which arises now. Summer time will operate this year whether the Order is approved or not, and the only question is on what day it should end. begin and on what day it should end. If the Order is approved, summer time will come into operation a week earlier and will continue for a fortnight later than it will if the Order is not approved.
A difference in time between here and Great Britain and Northern Ireland, for a week in April and for a fortnight in October, would interfere with postal arrangements and would seriously inconvenience transport companies, particularly the Great Northern Railway, the air companies and the shipping companies. For this reason, I ask the House to approve of the Order.
