Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on Science Week. It is a fantastic week that showcases the potential and capacity of our citizens and an event I wholeheartedly support. It has been running since 1995 and each year the event gets better. Hopefully, 2022 will be much better as well. Science Week showcases the talent in our third level facilities and among our school-going children. As the organisers say, it looks to showcase the "infinite possibilities" of science. I would add that it also showcases the infinite possibilities available to us when we have an active and educated population.

Those who make scientific discoveries know that the knowledge is for the benefit of all society. In this country we are particularly blessed with a creative and hardworking scientific community. It does tremendous work, often without receiving headlines, and this work is mainly done for the improvement of our everyday lives. It is wonderful that we have this opportunity to salute our scientific community in this Chamber.

In primary schools across the country, time will be spent by pupils exploring the world of science and, who knows, perhaps providing the spark of interest to the future Irish scientist who will make his or her mark on humanity with a positive discovery in the years to come.

Over the past few years, we have battled against Covid-19. We all played our part by adhering to the advice offered to us by our scientists and other experts in the field of disease control. Without their knowledge and expertise, we would have been unable to tackle the pandemic as effectively as we did. We owe a debt of gratitude to these scientists. Indeed, the contribution to the national effort extends to work done by our third level institutions, the research they undertook, the availability of guidance and advice from those studying hard to come up with a Covid solution.

Overlapping with Science Week is the ongoing COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh. We have heard from scientific experts on just how damaging human consumption has been and continues to be to our global environment. We have a real need to change our dependence on fossil fuels and it is heartening to hear from our experts that the potential exists on this island to change course and become the harnessers of alternative energy, from green hydrogen to harnessing wind energy. We have the natural resources, we have the experts and we need to invest in the future. We must all embrace this new direction that we, as an island, must and can take.

If we are to harness the talent of our potential scientists, we must ensure that more STEM places are made available at our third level institutions. To ensure we get candidates for these places who will be enthused and excited, we need to start at second level or earlier. Third level education remains underfunded in Ireland. We are providing third level 38% less funding now than we did in 2008. The Government has spent less on research and development as a percentage of modified GNI every year since Fine Gael came to power in 2011 and less as a share of public expenditure every year since 2012. This is even far below the EU average and the Government’s own target set as part of the strategy, Innovation 2020, and its successor, Impact 2030. We have fallen behind comparable countries in terms of research and innovation. While Impact 2030 outlines plans for a research fund, we must ensure that it supports all third level institutions in order that they may increase their research capacity. It is imperative that funding is provided to all third level institutions across the State to ensure balanced regional development. Investing in our public research system across all higher education institutes is the best way to achieve greater levels of quality research.

As a Deputy for Limerick, it would be remiss of me not to briefly mention the Limerick Festival of Science, which has been running since 11 November and remains open until this Friday. I encourage anybody who can to drop in and take a look. During the Limerick festival, there will be café science, quizzes and competitions. There is something to spark anybody’s and everybody’s curiosity. I commend the three Limerick third level institutions, the University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate College and my alma mater, renamed the Technological University of the Shannon, for combining and organising this fun educational festival.

In conclusion, I mentioned the funding issues affecting our third level institutions but I would like to end on a note of hope. Science Week can spark the questions and desire for answers in our young people; the boys and girls of the next generation. It was heartening to see a recent iWish report that found that 93% of female transition year students reject the notion that boys are more suited to STEM careers. This is very positive and shows that the old perceptions are being broken down by the upcoming generations. The report also highlights that the perception remains that there is a lack of gender equality in STEM careers. This perception must be challenged and changed. If we do not, we risk wasting the opportunity to harness the immense talent of our young women; talent that could be used to advance this country as a leader in the area of STEM careers.

I welcome the Minister’s comments on CERN. I would be interested to know whether it is associate or full membership that we will go for. Has he decided yet?

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