Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister knows, Science Week is a very positive event with which we would encourage everyone to get involved. I am grateful to have the chance to speak on it today because I realise how important it is to be included in the debate. As we all know, it gives everyone access and a chance to understand science in their everyday lives. It has never been more important than this year. We encourage people, young and old, to take an interest in science and how it shapes their daily lives.

In my own constituency, we have a number of major science and technology companies which have a huge impact on jobs and investment in Cork, pharmaceutical companies like Janssen, Eli Lilly and Pfizer, which are big employers in the city, as well as those like Apple Computers and PepsiCo. Their products are driven by science and led by science. We also have much smaller businesses, such as artisan food producers and companies, which take a different look at producing food in a more sustainable way.

One of the positives we can take from Covid-19 is remote working. Even tonight, I was able to remote into a number of meetings using Zoom and Teams. For politicians, as well as for everyone else, that will give us the capacity to attend more events going forward. More investment is needed in this regard in schools at primary and secondary level and in further education. Unfortunately, my daughter has been out of school for the last three days and she has to miss school a lot of the time. There should be an opportunity for children like that to be able to engage with a teacher over Zoom or Teams. I think we are all learning and I will be honest and say it is something I am now thinking about.

There is a lot I would like to say and, in particular, I would like to bring two points to the attention of the Minister. First, we have a number of companies interested in STEM but the Government needs to improve on that. There are young people out there. This is something we should be encouraging.

Second, a college student contacted me with regard to the HPV vaccine. She did not take it when she was in secondary school because there was a lot of hesitancy at the time but she wants to take it now. However, there is a €600 cost and the majority of college students cannot afford that. I appeal to the Minister to talk to the Minister for Health about that.

I come from the northside of Cork city, where we do not have a third level campus. I have contacted University College Cork, UCC, and Munster Technological University, MTU, because I believe we need a campus on the north side. To be honest, would it not be brilliant to have a science campus from one of the two best colleges in the country? That is something we should be looking to promote.

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