Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join others in saying it is good to see the Ceann Comhairle back in the Chair. I listened with intent to the debate. Many spoke about famous scientists from their areas. We heard a lot about Robert Boyle. I was surprised not to hear about William Parsons. Maybe I did not listen closely enough. Something they have in common is Robert Boyle was the seventh son of the Earl of Cork and William Parsons, who developed the Birr leviathan, an interesting thing which I saw on a school tour, was the Earl of Rosse. For a long time, to be a scientist and advance science, you had to be independently wealthy.

We would like to think that has changed, but has it really? This summer I got an email from a man in my hometown doing a PhD. We should be encouraging that because we talk of the importance of science and how it will save us all, yet he told me his stipend, and it is not unusual because it is the stipend generally for PhD students, was €18,500 per year. It is not taxed, but if it was it would be €19,614 per year, which is less than the national minimum wage. While there has been much rhetoric in the Chamber, I do not think it is matched by how we treat our students.

I raised this matter in the Dáil and the Minister who took it told me the line Minister would write back and, in fairness to him, the Minister, Deputy Harris, did write back and told me they were looking at the matter and it was important to them. As the Minister of State will be aware, the stipend was raised by €500 to the huge sum of €19,000 per year. That makes it sound like an additional help but it is actually what they earn. To be a PhD student, particularly in the sciences, a person has to work essentially 40 hours per week. There might be room for a small part-time job but it is not like a person can do a PhD part time, get a stipend and nail down a full-time job. That is not possible. It is extremely difficult, especially for somebody from the country who has to pay for accommodation in Dublin, to live here, pay for accommodation and support him or herself on €19,000 per year. It is not reflective of the esteem we claim to hold science in. It needs to be addressed. It is easy to put aside a couple of hours in the Dáil to celebrate science. It is much harder to find the funding for it but, unless we do so, we will not advance and we will not advance the status of Irish universities and the study of science in them, which is very important.

Regarding second level students, two teachers recently retired from Scariff Community College who year on year brought students up to the Young Scientist exhibition and opened up the world of science to them. I pay tribute to them: T.J. O'Halloran and Liam Coyle. A generation of students owes them a debt of gratitude.

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