TWO THIRDS OF people would prefer it if the clocks didn’t go back this weekend, according to a new poll. 

The poll, carried out by Ireland Thinks and which surveyed 1,000 people, asked participants if they thought the clocks should go back.

The nationally representative poll was carried out on Saturday 17 October, ahead of clocks going back on Sunday. 

The poll found that 47% of people believe that the clocks should not go back on Sunday, while 20% said that the clocks should go back but only because Northern Ireland is doing the same. 

A total of 31% said that the clocks should go back, while 2% said that they didn’t know. 

Under EU law, our clocks – alongside those across all the member states – go back on the last Sunday in October. They go forward on the final Sunday in March. 

However, last March the EU voted to scrap the system for 2021 – meaning EU states may have to decide whether they want to remain on permanent summer time or permanent winter time. 

The poll found that older people were more likely to believe that the clocks should not go back. Among people aged above 65, 55% believed clocks should not go back. That same view was shared by only 32% of those aged 18-24. 

Social Democrats voters were the most likely to believe that the clocks should not go back, perhaps reflecting the views of the party’s co-leader Róisín Shortall, with 63% backing the idea. 

Shortall had asked Micheál Martin earlier this month to not put the clocks back this year to make the winter easier during the pandemic. 

Solidarity-People Before Profit voters were least likely to support the clocks not going back, with 27% supporting the idea. However, 43% believed that the clocks should go back only because the same was happening in Northern Ireland.