Fine Gael Deputy David Stanton has called for summertime to be extended.

During the Topical Issues Debate, he called on the Government to raise the issue at EU level.

By not putting back the clocks an hour, Deputy Stanton said we could improve road safety, reduce crime, boost tourism and reduce obesity levels.

In response, Minister Alan Shatter said summertime begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October.

He said all EU member states begin summertime simultaneously.

Therefore, he said, we would have to convince all member states to change their time arrangements.

The minister said he had no plans at this time to change the time zone or to conduct an analysis of extending summertime.

Mr Shatter said the issue is clearly complex and it is in our interest that our time zone remains the same as Britain and Northern Ireland.

There would be some value in the matter being pursued at committee level, he added.