ieExplains: When are the clocks going forward?
Daylight saving time is the practice of changing the clocks to extend daylight hours. File picture
After another long winter, Ireland can finally get ready to break out the phrase "there's a fine stretch in the evenings" again.
Although the clocks going forward means an hour less in bed for everyone, it is a sign of brighter days to come.
If you're confused as to what season the clocks change, just remember the mnemonic 'spring forward, fall back' — the clocks go forward in spring and go back an hour in autumn, or 'fall' as is used in American English.
Here's everything you need to know:
The clocks will go forward on . They will go forward by one hour.
This means that at 1am the time will change to 2am.
Every year, the clocks change on the last weekend in March and October. This is called daylight saving time.
In winter, when it's naturally darker, time goes back by an hour, which means an extra hour wrapped in bed. In summer, the clocks going forward an hour makes for longer evenings.
The impact of the change varies, with countries further from the equator who experience more hours of darkness, benefitting most from the system.
In most cases, devices like smartphones or tablets will update automatically.
However, non-smart devices such as ovens, cookers, car clocks and clocks with hands will need to be updated manually.
The clocks will go back by one hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October — October 26, 2025.
Yes.
In 2019, the European Parliament voted that daylight saving time should be abolished by April 2021, but a final decision on it has yet to take place.
The European Commission has said that it does not plan to submit a new proposal on the matter to the parliament. This means that no changes are expected to summer and winter time in the coming years.
Last year, a group of MEPs led by Fine Gael's Sean Kelly wrote to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to demand the end of daylight saving time.
In the letter, the cross-party group said the bi-annual ritual of moving clocks forward and back "is outdated and poses well-documented risks to health, safety, and overall well-being". The letter says the clock change can "negatively impact sleep patterns, increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and lead to a spike in traffic accidents".
