James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

Established in 1954, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, is an intergovernmental organisation that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. It is headquartered in Geneva and currently comprises 24 member states and ten associate member states.

Associate membership of CERN is a commitment in the programme for Government and a long-standing national ambition. It is also a personal ambition of mine, having advocated for

Ireland’s membership of CERN since my time as Opposition spokesperson. I often called for this to happen from the other side of the House and I am particularly pleased to now be in a position to make it happen, as the relevant Minister on this side of the House.

Ireland applied for associate membership of CERN in late 2023. The CERN council approved Ireland’s application earlier this year, so Ireland is now in a position to join as an associate member, pending Dáil approval of the agreements under discussion today. The signing ceremony took place on 8 May. It followed a visit I made in February of this year, and a previous visit made by the Tánaiste in the course of his Ministry. That signing ceremony is predicated on domestic ratification, which is the business before us today in terms of this motion.

The associate membership agreement and the CERN protocol on privileges and immunities are the two relevant instruments. The associate membership agreement sets out Ireland’s rights and obligations as an associate member of CERN. This includes: the right to participate in CERN’s scientific, training, and education programmes; the right to representation on CERN’s governing bodies; the eligibility of Irish nationals for positions at CERN; and eligibility for Irish businesses to compete for contracts with the organisation. Ireland’s obligations under the agreement include: an annual financial contribution to CERN, the granting of privileges and immunities to CERN staff, and engagement on periodic reviews of Ireland’s status as an associate member state. Ireland’s annual membership fee has been valued at €1.9 million in 2025 prices, subject to indexation.

The protocol on privileges and immunities is the second document included in today’s vote. The privileges, immunities, inviolabilities, facilities, exemptions and rights in the protocol are in line with those provided for other comparable international bodies and agreements. Today’s vote is a critical step in progressing the national ratification of associate membership. Should we vote to approve these documents today Ireland can expect to be an associate member state of CERN by autumn. I know that is critically important for the researchers, students and others who wish to avail of CERN's services to have this in place and complete by the end of this year. That will be enabled should this vote receive cross-House support.

While fundamental research is the focus of activity at CERN, the benefits of membership are far-reaching across research, innovation, enterprise and education, to name but a few. I will speak briefly on the many benefits that we can expect to flow from associate membership of CERN. Irish particle physicists, computer scientists and engineers will have the opportunity to work on world-class experiments. The cutting-edge skills that Irish students and researchers will develop at CERN span engineering, quantum technologies, data analytics, advanced materials and much more. Irish companies will be eligible to compete and bid for broader contracts with CERN, covering all business areas from services to the design and delivery of advanced equipment. These

contracts challenge and enable Irish firms to stay competitive and to compete at the very forefront of innovation frontiers. Scientists at CERN investigate the chain of matter and go to questions fundamental to the history of our universe but also made many applied and practical discoveries along the way which have many real world and real time applications - many of which were not understood at the time of their discovery. For example, Tim Berners-Lee, working at CERN, invented the world wide web. He also pioneered the earliest touch screen technology. Both of these were incidental discoveries. In the case of the world wide web, it was a way to share information among scientists and fellow researchers working at CERN. It has gone on to become transformative across the world. There are many other such technologies and innovations that have emerged from CERN and that will emerge in the future. We need to consider what might be next, and how Ireland might support its scientific community in being at the leading edge and being discoverers and frontier makers ourselves.

We are already seeing collaborations emerge between Ireland and CERN. Since Ireland applied for associate membership, Munster Technological University and Trinity College Dublin have each signed agreements with experiments at CERN to contribute to challenges in engineering. Those new partnerships show clear potential for engineers and other workers outside of particle physics to benefit from associate membership. International co-operation in research and innovation plays an important role in the development and sustainability of a world-class research and innovation system. International research organisations like CERN maximise the impact of international and national investment in research and innovation, as well as developing international collaborative relations.

I thank the community who have supported Ireland’s application to CERN and who will continue to play a pivotal role in Ireland’s engagement with CERN. On the occasion of my previous visit, I was joined by a significant travelling cohort from the Irish research and scientific communities. It is fair to say that there is universal acclaim and welcome for this development. It is something that was long awaited and anticipated among the science and research community. This day is something that many will be glad has come.

I commend this motion to the House. For the reasons outlined, I am requesting approval of the House today so that Ireland can join this world-leading international scientific collaboration. Tá súil agam go mbeimid go léir ar aon intinn gur deis iontach í seo. I hope all will agree with me that it is an excellent opportunity. I thank the House for their engagement and look forward to the debate.

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