Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Who would ever have thought that Science Week would generate such energy and excitement? As a former maths and science teacher, I am personally excited to see this, mainly because Science Week is primarily about making science fun, accessible and interesting, particularly to our young students. Earlier we heard the Minister list off the work of his Department. He promised not just to publish the independent review of our PhD research ecosystem but also, in parallel with its publication, to publish the action plan to take forward the recommendations of the review. One area of concern that has been highlighted many times is the current value of the stipend for our PhD students and how pitiful it is at the moment. It is a severe discouragement for any student to start and continue on a research project. The Minister has said that he will deal with it. He absolutely must make sure it is sufficient because right now it is not even at the level of a living wage.

As well as that, we need to encourage more students to look at career pathways that incorporate some or all of the science subjects. The Minister spoke about the imminent publication of the research and innovation Bill. We await that legislation and hope to see how the sector can be further resourced and supported. Before I came into the Chamber I had a look at the OECD rankings for research and development and where Ireland fares globally. If we look at our investment as a percentage of our GDP, out of 90 countries, we are in 38th place but because our GDP is high, it is possibly more realistic to look at our expenditure on a per capitabasis. By that measurement we are in 21st place, which is better. Still, if we look at many of our competitors, we see that we are way behind the likes of Australia and the Netherlands and we make half of the investment that is made in countries like Sweden, Austria and Switzerland. There is a lot of work to be made up there.

As I said earlier, Science Week is all about connecting children and ordinary people with no scientific background whatsoever to the science that is literally all around us. We are so lucky in Sligo to have a fabulous science fair at the Atlantic Technological University, ATU. It is taking place all of this week and finishes on Saturday. It is organised by the faculty of science in ATU Sligo and is sponsored by SFI and the pharmaceutical company AbbVie. As several colleagues have already said, the theme of this year's festival is human and it questions how human decisions will impact the future of the world. Of course, this is relevant for every single one of us. I want to echo the words of Deputy Bruton on the need to encourage more students to participate in the Young Scientist Exhibition and in SciFest. I try to go every year if possible because it is one of most interesting days, or even two days, that one can spend at an exhibition. The excitement in the place and the learning is so positive and so many more schools and students could benefit from involvement.

One of the most interesting things about Science Week is how primary and secondary students are targeted. I had a look at the ATU brochure and even though we are coming to the end of the week, there are still some very interesting programmes happening. On Friday in a number of primary schools there is a programme called Madlab where students will look at how to solder and how to make working electronic gadgets including things like musical bagpipes, burglar alarms and lie detectors. It is really fascinating stuff for young students. Similarly, there are other programmes in secondary schools. Perhaps the most exciting event, in which everyone can participate, is taking place tomorrow night. I refer to moon walking in Sligo at 8 p.m. in Slish Woods, a moonlit hike under the starlit sky that will give people an opportunity to learn about the wonders of astronomy and what our ancestors thought about the sky. Interestingly, participants will also discover how Star Wars really originated in Sligo and I am certainly looking forward to that. That is what I call interesting, exciting and making science relevant to all of us.

Finally, while I have the floor I want to reiterate what I have said a number of times previously and what was clearly articulated by the Ms Maura McNally, the Chair of the governing body of the ATU, at the incorporation of St. Angela's College into the ATU. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, was present when she referred to the historic underinvestment in capital projects in third level colleges in the northern and western region. The Northern and Western Regional Assembly's budget submission points out that the Higher Education Authority figures show, in relation to general capital funding, that the northern and western region's higher education institutes collectively continue to receive below average capital investment allocations. It says that between 2012 and 2022, the higher education institutes based in the northern and western region on average received general capital funding of €238 per undergraduate, while the national figure was €331, a difference of €93 per head for every single graduate enrolled. Research and innovation is as critical in the northern and western region as elsewhere and I ask that it would be adequately funded.

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