Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on statements on Science Week. I welcome the fact we are having this debate and that we have Science Week. It is a good opportunity for the House to address these issues that do not always get the focus they deserve. Of course, they are hugely important to our country and its future.

The theme this year was to explore the infinite possibilities of science to address social challenges and to help to understand our world. There are a couple of important points. This is about the idea of infinite possibilities and how you build a system that provides the necessary focus for the realisation of some of them. There are also issues around social challenges and understanding our world.

I welcome that the Minister placed an emphasis on climate in his contribution, which is what I will do in mine. We must think about the climate challenge as one that requires a scientific and technical response. When we speak about the sector, we have got into that habit of talking about sectoral ceilings and dealing with this issue on a sectoral basis, However, if we look at energy, transport, retrofitting or agriculture, for example, huge scientific advances in recent years have provided us with opportunities. I firmly believe we need to position ourselves as a country to lead in this field, whether it be in terms of energy or elsewhere.

Onshore wind technology has hugely advanced. Offshore technology is emerging but will advance in the time ahead. It is the same with solar energy. Our understanding has increased in the area of hydrogen in recent months and years. The opportunity there will depend on the efforts of the sector and the many scientists and technicians in the area, and likewise in the area of biofuels. In transport, new emerging battery technologies are increasing efficiency and effectiveness. We have sustainable aviation fuels. We are dealing with new building materials, progressing with retrofitting and installing new heating systems. In respect of agriculture, Teagasc appeared before the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action this morning to look at the whole range of research it is conducting in the area of land use. There is, therefore, almost exponential potential for our country. Within that, we must prioritise and maintain focus. It is important that we put the requisite resources and supports in place to encourage this. In science, we must build the environment to encourage the endeavour of individual scientists and as a collective. There must be incentives. We await the hydrogen strategy, for example. I welcome the fact that that ball is now rolling more quickly than it was heretofore.

Deputy Ó Laoghaire touched on the issue of basic versus applied science. As a country, we need to take risks in the area of scientific endeavour in terms of research and innovation. There is very often the constraint that the research that gets funded is that which will be commercial and deliver a return. As Deputy Ó Laoghaire said, we do not know what the technology is that will deliver for us and for climate; it may not exist yet. There is certainly an element within our response to climate change that is a moonshot. Our efforts are a statement of intent about doing the right things at this time to hopefully deliver the requisite responses in the years ahead. Some of that will be commercial; some of it will not.

I will make the point that we must take those risks. Sometimes, in some of these spaces, I quite often get the sense at either an institutional, governmental or departmental level that we are waiting to see what is happening in other countries. We cannot lead on everything but we need to be strategic and look at our strengths as a country, whether that is in terms of offshore energy, hydrogen, renewable technologies or whatever it may be and we need to be brave. We must support those who are working in those areas. It is really important that our research is open access and available, and that we support our scientists. Deputy Ó Laoghaire mentioned supports for student scientists and PhD students. I made the case previously for working scientists in the medical sciences and elsewhere. We must provide them with a wage, stipend or support to be able to live in the communities in which they work and study.

There is significant opportunity for the institutions and states that are brave and ambitious at this time. The Minister mentioned climate, food and health. We have made significant progress in technology and IT, health sciences and life sciences. The green economy holds great potential. Some of the endeavour will be Betamax, some of it will be VHS, some of it will be neither. It is important that we enter into all of this with a spirit of support for the scientific effort. We should respect and support basic and social sciences as much as applied sciences. We should respect and support those who are supported by major pharmaceutical companies as much as we do pioneering local research in individual hospitals or third-level institutions. It is important to get the balance right.

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