Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last month, I was honoured to be elected Chairperson of the Inter-Parliamentary Union working group on science and technology. That was thanks to the Ceann Comhairle’s original nomination of me to that body and I want to thank him for that. The goal of this working group is to build bridges between science and parliament at a global level and to serve as the parliamentary global focal point for issues related to science and technology. The working group is comprised of 21 members of parliament from across the five continents who have a specific relevant knowledge and expertise and who are determined to inspire global parliamentary action through legislative work in the fields of science, technology and innovation.

I want to commend the Minister and the Department for the establishment of the evidence for policy unit and for the programme of consultation that is ongoing - or that has just closed - in relation to science for advice. One of the main aims of both these strands within the Department is to ensure that science is made more accessible and more useful for policymakers both in terms of Government and Parliament.

There is a responsibility on the scientific community and scientists themselves to maximise the benefits of science for society as a whole. They must start to publish outside the scientific literature in the public interest by disseminating information by the findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable, FAIR, principle.

Scientific research data, whether large or small and irrespective of discipline, should be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. It is imperative that we share the common knowledge, and not just because this is an important requirement in itself. Science is not science unless it is being communicated. In the recent past, we have seen growth in collaboration, particularly interdisciplinary collaboration, but potential collaborators are not going to pick up a specialised academic journal outside their own academic fields. It is only through communication with the media and the public that they are aware of what is happening in related and other fields. As such, it is imperative, not just in terms of scientific development, but also in terms of communicating with the public, that this engagement take place.

The scientific community needs to realise that engaging with the public is a requirement as a result of securing the public funding in the first place and to ensure that they outline the potential benefits to society as a whole. This is an issue of equity on a global level. We need to enshrine the right to knowledge and fundamental science regardless of what part of the world someone lives in and regardless of his or her education or background. Information and access to that information need to be treated just like a human right. For example, we have to devise innovative and new climate solutions to deal with the challenges presented by the climate crisis. These need to be made available across the globe when they are devised.

Turning to science and its relationship with policymakers, Parliament and Government, the reality is that science has historically been far too slow to provide answers and solutions. Tomorrow, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine will make a presentation to the Oireachtas. As Minister in 2017, I commissioned it to produce a report on air quality and the retrofitting of homes. Five years later, that evidence is only now being published. We made decisions on the retrofitting of homes and the new retrofitting scheme in advance of that because we could not wait five years to get the evidence back. We need to see evidence being turned around far more quickly. This will come with a caveat, of course. Science is always conditional and based on variables and, as politicians, we would love to have certainty, but certainty in today's world is not possible. We live in an uncertain world, and we need to acknowledge those uncertainties, weigh them up and make decisions based on that.

With Covid-19, we have all seen at first hand how important it is for science to be able to communicate clearly with the Government and for the Government and Parliament to analyse the evidence critically and weigh it up against competing demands. This relationship needs to be strengthened by building relationships and trust so that we can ensure that the best strategic decisions are made now for our future development. We are facing unprecedented challenges in terms of climate change, biodiversity, food and energy security, inflation and economic growth. Bridging the evidence gap between science and politics is vital if we are to overcome these challenges comprehensively.

We are living in a new, post-normal science world after Covid-19. Scientists compromised to provide evidence for decisions in a timely manner during the pandemic. It was a trade-off between certainty and the evidence that was urgently needed to make policy decisions. We are in the same situation in terms of climate change. We need answers now. The scientists have presented us with the evidence. The difficulty is that much of that evidence is far too fatalistic and futuristic. They need to engage in offering solutions. They need to engage with communities across this country and the planet if we are going to provide the solutions that we need to deal with the challenges we are facing. We have unique challenges and we urgently need unique solutions.

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