Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

Ireland's associate membership of CERN is a fantastic step forward in science, technology and innovation in this country. As a TD, I was happy to be able to offer a pairing to the Minister during his recent visit. Great thanks is due to the Minister and his team for facilitating this associate agreement. Well done to all. As an associate member we will have access to what is one of the world's most advanced research institutions in particle physics where, without over-exaggerating, the building blocks of the universe are explored and groundbreaking discoveries are made. Most of us will be familiar with the Large Hadron Collider which is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, with 27 km of tunnel used to study fundamental particles and interactions. It was in the news back in 2012 when the Higgs boson, which was hypothesised back in the 1960s, was formally identified in its nature at the CERN facility. Ireland was already involved in various collaborations including universal research participation experiments and engagement in related fields like computer science and medical physics but this partnership opens the door further for Irish researchers, engineers and students. As others have said, there will be great opportunities for our students to collaborate on cutting-edge experiments and contribute to scientific achievements. Our universities can have more formal and widespread participation in CERN projects which will strengthen our STEM potential. However, it must be said in that context that we still have a bit of work to do in terms of our investment in STEM and encouraging girls in particular to get involved. Statistics show that in many cases girls outperform boys but there is a confidence issue and not enough women are taking STEM subjects. We need to maximise our own home-grown talent but CERN membership also provides us with the opportunity to bring talent into Ireland. Indeed, many US researchers might find Ireland a more attractive proposition now. Well done to all.

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