Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak this evening about Science Week. I will use the short time I have to speak about investment in research, development and innovation, RDI. Recently, at the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, the independent body that reports in an advisory capacity to the Government on competitiveness and productivity in the economy, outlined the need for increased investment in RDI by the Government. It is clear from even the most cursory analysis that there has been a lack of investment in this area in the past. Since 2011, the State has spent less on research and development as a percentage of modified GNI* every year and less as a share of public expenditure every year since 2012. This has left us well below the EU average and the State's own targets set as part of the innovation strategy for 2020.

A report by the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick found that for every euro spent on research and development, €5 is returned to the economy. You do not need to be a scientist to work out that that is pretty good value for money. In anyone's language, that is a very good and worthwhile investment. The reason I raise it is that encouraging people to become involved in STEM subjects and investing in those areas and in RDI are essential if we are to deliver economic robustness and sustainability and improved economic productivity.

In the minute remaining to me I wish to raise the 94% vote by the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association to pursue industrial action over pay and career progression. If we want people to choose STEM and then choose careers in science, we must ensure they have decent, well paid jobs at the end of their studies. We are asking young people to make the effort, put the time in, choose science as their career and choose to enhance all of our lives with their education and know-how, yet we heard from medical laboratory scientists that they are taking industrial action because of the chronic shortage of staff and a recruitment and retention crisis which they say is caused by poor pay and conditions.

That is a very bad message to send to any young person, particularly in Science Week. What we should be saying to them is that we want them to study science and, as a quid pro quo, there is a decent job waiting for them. The Medical Laboratory Scientists Association is saying there are no decent jobs there. I urge the Minister to use his good offices to bring a resolution to that dispute that is satisfactory to the medical scientists.

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