James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann approves the terms of: (i) the Agreement between the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and Ireland concerning the Granting of the Status of Associate Member State of CERN, signed at Geneva on 8th May, 2025, and

(ii) the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Organization for Nuclear Research,

copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 27th May, 2025.

I am pleased to move this important motion. I know schedules are running a bit ahead of time. I was in attendance at the Oireachtas joint committee discussing this brief before I came to the Chamber. I think other Deputies may be making their ways across from that session as well because there is a lot of overlap between the two debates.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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They all know the timings of the Dáil.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The business is an hour ahead of schedule.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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It is the business of the Members to be present in the Dáil Chamber. Will the Minister continue with his statement?

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I am sharing time with Deputy McGettigan. This a good day and a positive day. It has been a while coming and I know the Minister will agree with that, but it is welcome. There is significant opportunity with it for Irish scientists. There is an opportunity to collaborate, connect and lead of their own volition. That is there now and that is to be welcomed. I encourage the Minister to ensure that the environment is there to harness that opportunity. Thanks to their mother, my kids at the weekend were out at UCD Festival's Be Inspired event, which again is encouraging kids in Ireland from a young age to be scientifically aware and engage.

My next points are tangentially related but also relate specifically to scientific endeavour in Ireland. Yesterday, at the artificial intelligence, AI, committee, there was mention of a CERN for AI and the idea that this would not all be led by the private sector or big tech but would have collaborative public involvement. That is maybe something the Minister could take away and try to make some progress on.

The second point, which I have made previously to the Minister, relates to leaving certificate reform. What I am hearing clearly from the Irish Science Teachers Association, ISTA, is its concerns with the proposals as they are. I am a science graduate. I was in the small enough group that do three science subjects for the leaving certificate, although that was a long time ago. I am hearing from science teachers that they are concerned that the current approach to accelerated leaving certificate reform will undermine our scientific programmes and people completing the leaving certificate and moving on to third level education. I ask the Minister to please take an interest in that. It is all very much connected.

Generally speaking on this issue, this is a positive day and I hope we make significant progress.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the recent signing of the associate membership agreement between Ireland and CERN. It is a long-overdue step and Sinn Féin will support it. We commend those who have worked to bring it to fruition. Let me be clear, however: this membership is more than symbolic. It is a game-changer. Sinn Féin believes firmly in the transformative power of science and education. This agreement with CERN will unlock real opportunities, not just for our universities and institutions but for our students, researchers, SMEs and communities across the island, North and South.

CERN is a global centre of excellence. Its contributions to science and technology are world-renowned. It is where the world wide web was born in 1989. This was a revolutionary idea created by Tim Berners-Lee to share files, and now it is one of the greatest tools for global communication and information exchange. This is the kind of innovation that CERN is known for, and now Ireland has a seat at that table. We believe in making the most of what CERN has to offer for our students, our scientists and our future workforce. This partnership opens doors to training, internships, fellowships and cutting-edge research. CERN provides world-class training in physics, engineering, computing and data science, fields that are critical to Ireland’s future economy. The summer schools, the fellowships and the technical programs will help us retain our brightest minds and grow our STEM sector. These are not abstract ideas; they are real pathways for young people here to gain top-tier skills and experience. Importantly, this membership allows students to work in international teams, learn to solve global challenges and develop the collaboration and problem-solving skills that are so highly valued in today’s economy. Indeed, this is not only about academia. CERN is also a major economic opportunity. Irish SMEs will now be eligible to bid for high-tech procurement contracts worth hundreds of millions of euro each year. This creates scope for jobs, innovation and investment in Irish industry.

For an annual contribution of €1.9 million over the next five years, Ireland gains access to CERN’s scientific programmes. Our researchers will become eligible for fellowships and staff positions. Our businesses can enter competitive procurement processes. That is excellent value, but we still need clarity on key details. We need these clear answers. How exactly will Ireland’s financial contribution be managed? Are there costs associated with future CERN projects, like the future circular collider, that we are expected to shoulder? Are these costs in line with other international research partnerships we have joined? Sinn Féin supports research and innovation, but the public deserves transparency and assurance that this investment delivers for the whole island. This is central to our vision because CERN must be for everyone, not just the few. The potential of this partnership cannot be limited to those already privileged to access science and tech careers. We must use this opportunity to break down barriers to bring working-class communities, rural communities and disadvantaged students into the fold. CERN’s open, collaborative approach aligns with our vision for an Ireland that is fair, equal, and innovation led. Just as the world wide web brought the world closer together, CERN can be a tool to bridge gaps within our own society. Students from disadvantaged areas deserve to see what is possible. Visits to CERN, hands-on experience with global science and the chance to work shoulder to shoulder with world-class researchers - these are powerful motivators. They can inspire the next generation to dream big and achieve more.

Sinn Féin believes that talent and potential exist in every part of Ireland, from Belfast to Cork, from Derry to Donegal, and in every rural parish in between. This partnership must deliver North and South, urban and rural, fairly and equally. We already have excellent cross-Border scientific collaboration, such as the partnership between the Dunsink Observatory and the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. Together, they have launched the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland, highlighting our shared legacy in astronomy. This CERN partnership must now build on that legacy and expand it. Through associate membership, we can create even more opportunities for all-island education, research and innovation. Students, researchers and businesses, regardless of where they are from, will work together in world-class scientific programmes. That means more shared growth, better education outcomes and stronger links across our island. We must ensure this becomes a reality.

CERN’s director for international relations, Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle, recently told the Minister that Irish industry already has a strong footprint at CERN, even before we join as associate members. That is a powerful indication of the potential that lies ahead, but it also highlights the disadvantage our physicists have faced up to now. Many have had to emigrate to do leading research. That is not right and it is not sustainable. With this agreement, we must begin to change that, but we must follow through with action, support and a shared commitment to ensure that CERN benefits the many, not the few.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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I welcome the fact Ireland will become an associate member of CERN, and my colleagues in the Labour Party will be happy to support this motion. Scientific and academic research are significant assets to Ireland. This membership has been pushed for a long time by many in the academic community in Ireland, so I congratulate the Minister on having got it over the line. It will serve scientific research in our third level institutions well. Ireland becoming an associate member of CERN will provide new pathways and resources in scientific and academic research for many in the academic community, as outlined in the Minister's statement.

All of these pathways, including masters and PhD programmes, apprenticeships, internships and technical training experience, are very welcome additions to the sector.

Our third level sector and our academic and scientific research programmes in Ireland provide this sector with a positive reputation nationally and internationally. That is down to the hard work and thirst for knowledge and information from our PhD students and those working in our research facilities such as the Tyndall National Institute in my own county of Cork. The Tyndall National Institute has been operating in Cork for over 40 years, as the Minister will be well aware, and continues to grow its presence and increase its research income and income from industry. It is a staple of academic society in Cork and we are very proud of it. It has provided a home for excellent research and further studies for thousands of people across Ireland.

It is vitally important to highlight that while Ireland has a good reputation and our scientific research institutions are performing well, many PhD students are seriously struggling due to the wages they are paid. We have heard many calls from the Postgraduate Workers Organisation for a living wage for PhD students over the last number of years. When you read the stories about the reality for many PhD students, you cannot help but feel the injustice they experience. PhD students put in long hours and work hard to contribute to Ireland’s scientific and academic research but for many at the end of the month they are short money for their bills, their rent and their common everyday purchases. That is simply not right. Those people on the ground, carrying out the work we all commend, are struggling to get by. It is also worth pointing out as it is quite noteworthy that a student who is participating in PhD studies, and whose work has often been in further education for much of their academic time, may never have been working full time. They may have been working part time through their studies and now when they get to their PhD the remuneration can be overwhelmingly paltry. In addition, these students do not have the same protections as many others, including regarding sick leave and holiday pay. I accept that this is a very broad area and one that it is not solely in the Minister's gift to fix but I would sincerely ask him to take action on this issue, to engage proactively with Postgraduate Workers Organisation and to ensure these students, who provide such a vital function to higher education, science and research, are not skint at the end of each month.

As I have previously done on a number of occasions at this stage, I wish to highlight the issues affecting students who come to Ireland to undertake scientific research and studies. International students in further and higher education, science and research, make a significant contribution to our economy and society. Universities across Ireland are conducting vital research through the hard work and dedication of international students. I highlight the work of all PhD students in University College Cork in my own county. This fantastic work serves the betterment of our third level institutions. However, registration fees for international students must be looked at, given that these students must already pay considerable amounts to get a place in our universities and face the same housing and cost-of-living barriers as domestic students.

In this regard, as I have raised with the Minister previously, we must extend the duration of visas for international students so that they are valid for the length of their course or programme rather than having to be renewed annually. Annual renewal puts unnecessary pressure on students but also contributes to more administrative work in immigration and college admissions offices. It is common sense that if a student is here for a four-year course, they should have a four-year visa. It makes sense. I also welcome the fact that, as we heard during the committee earlier, there are significant costs that are covered by the Department with regard to postgraduate fees, PhD fees and postdoc fees but it needs to be highlighted even further that opportunities can be made available for those doing undergraduate degrees or masters degrees. Now that we have become part of CERN, we provide far more incentives for students to continue their studies and provide Ireland with the opportunity for scientific research, innovation and skills right across all our institutions. This is a very welcome development. I congratulate the Minister once again.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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Today's motion is a very important milestone in Ireland's journey as a modern knowledge society where research, innovation and international co-operation are placed at the centre of national development. The decision to seek associate membership of CERN is not just a symbolic act; it is a declaration of intent and a clear statement that Ireland sees itself as a serious player in global scientific research. It aligns us with over 20 European countries that recognise that investment in science is not a luxury but a strategic necessity. It is a gateway to opportunity for our universities, our industries and, above all, our students and researchers. It opens the door to participation in groundbreaking projects, collaborations with some of the brightest minds in the world and access to world-class infrastructure.

Countries of a comparable size to us such as Norway and Portugal have reaped significant rewards for their involvement. They have not only seen the scientific benefits but also the commercial and reputational gains. Their universities attract more international talent and their students gain exposure to frontier science. Their industries secure contracts and research and development partnerships that might otherwise be out of reach. However, if we are serious about competing on this stage, we must look at our own house because international partnerships are only going to get stronger as the domestic system supports them. To that end, we need to look at the fact that science is not just in laboratories; it starts in our classrooms here at home. When we look at, for example, our current school system, it really struggles to cultivate the scientists and engineers of tomorrow. An example of that would be the leaving certificate, in respect of which reform is overdue. It is still driven by rote learning and leaves little space for experimentation or cross-disciplinary thinking, skills that are really necessary in this modern scientific innovation.

The recent ASTI ballots highlighted frustrations around workload, school infrastructure and limited resources for STEM teaching. According to a 2023 survey of the Irish Science Teachers Association, over 40% of Irish secondary schools lack dedicated laboratory facilities. If we are going to compete and have the brilliant minds we have here going to places like CERN, they need to have those laboratories in the classroom when they are starting on their scientific journey. They also face a shortage of qualified STEM teachers. The Teaching Council's own data shows consistent recruitment difficulties, particularly in physics and computer science. If we cannot find staff for our schools with these specialist teachers, we are narrowing the pipeline of people going on to university and third level to study STEM. Our universities punch well above their weight in global rankings but the system is under increased strain. Core public funding remains below the EU average and has not kept pace with the rising number of students or the demands of high-impact research. Instead, many third level institutes rely heavily on external and private sources, sometimes at the expense of independent, long-term academic inquiry. It is not just about the infrastructure; it is also about the PhD students. We need to address how PhD students are furthering research here and how they are being paid for that. We need to review that model. These students are so important to research and we cannot treat them as an afterthought. We really must ensure their terms and conditions are put on a suitable standing. Then there are postdocs. The postdoc land is so important. You can get a doctorate but it is what you do with that afterwards. What are the possibilities for those postdocs? How are they resourced? What are the opportunities to further that sort of research? We need to do that further.

I am aware of an institute called the Helmholtz-Zentrum in Dresden in Germany. My son visited it as part of transition year for science. It was an amazing institute for a young person to visit to explore the things they are doing there. He described it as being life-changing for him. That is the path he wants to go on. I know this opportunity is not available for every single child in this country but would it not be fantastic if we had a zentrum or an institute like that here so that children do not have to travel? We would have it here so that transition year students who think they might be interested in getting to do STEM would have that opportunity to explore in a real institute and a real laboratory what is going on.

When they are able to engage on a real rather than theoretical level, that is where the love will come from for them.

The Social Democrats are delighted that we are going to have associate membership of CERN, and while we are very proud of that, there are a number of things we need to bear in mind. If we are going to continue with CERN into the future, we need to get our own house in order. What we are looking for is modern science laboratories in every school. I would go so far as to say that we have to start at primary and pre-primary level because the exploration of STEM is so important from as early an age as possible. That is how people become passionate about it and when people have passion for learning, we will have great minds and great people involved. We need to have fully qualified teachers for all STEM subjects and a sustainable funding model for third level education on a multi-annual basis. We also need to have a living wage for PhD students and a clear post-doctoral pathway. I would love to see a national centre of research excellence for all things STEM.

I congratulate the Minister and all of those involved in this. It is a great day and we can only improve on this. I am not criticising here. I really just want to say that it is a great day and let us try to make it even better.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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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.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I support the motion for Ireland to become an associate member of CERN, the European organisation for nuclear research. I do so on behalf of Independent Ireland with a clear sense of what this should mean for the Irish people. Let me be straight. My party is no cheerleader for big, wasteful public spending or for projects that line the pockets of consultants while ordinary people get no benefits. Neither are we in the business of signing up to European groupthink or handing away our neutrality, which we value dearly. What we are in favour of is common sense, value for money and supporting our own young people. We believe in giving our young people opportunities, giving Irish businesses a fair crack of the whip and backing innovation that can help Ireland to thrive. On that basis, this membership, if properly managed and tightly monitored, has the potential to deliver for Ireland.

Let us look at the facts. CERN is not a political project; it is a science organisation where some of the world's finest minds come together to work on fundamental science and practical innovation. From the Internet, to MRI machines and modern cancer treatments, CERN's work has had real benefits for ordinary people. Ireland is one of only a few European countries not formally linked with CERN, which leaves our young people, researchers and businesses locked out of world-class opportunities. As an associate member we can give Irish students and graduates access to training and internships at CERN and enable Irish firms, including small and medium-sized businesses, to bid for contracts at CERN which are worth millions. This will support Ireland's leadership in fields like big data and medical technology, sectors in which we are already strong and where our SMEs can drive on.

I understand that membership comes at a cost and I hope that the money involved will be carefully accounted for. Let me be crystal clear: Independent Ireland would not sign up to this unless we believed it will deliver clear value for the Irish taxpayer. We ask that there be a full cost-benefit review after three years before any application for full membership is made. I hope there will be strict monitoring to ensure this does not evolve into another gold-plated club for a few academics while the country foots the bill. We will also insist that Ireland's sovereignty and neutrality remain untouched. CERN is a science body, not a military or EU army project. Any attempt to link this to a wider political alignment will be opposed.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I welcome the very positive news that Ireland will become an associate member of CERN. Ireland has a rich history in research and scientific innovation. Indeed, the Nobel science laureate, Ernest Walton, who was the first person to split the atom, should be recognised here today. Membership will open doors for Irish researchers to take part in CERN scientific programmes and make Irish citizens eligible for staff positions and fellowships. We have an enormous amount of home-grown talent but as a small country, we have limited opportunities for growth. CERN membership will help to address that particular deficit. As the Minister knows well, it is essential to support academics in their research and encourage more people to undertake PhDs and research and innovation in this country. We are a great country with very hard-working, bright and innovative people. I hope the Department will seek to support innovative PhD research projects in the years ahead.

I wish to raise the matter of PhD stipends today. I welcome the fact that the programme for Government seeks to increase the stipend by €2,000 but this does not keep up with inflation. This is something that the Minister should focus on and prioritise because it is a really important part of the academic sphere in the country. If we want to develop and build on Ireland's position as a centre of innovation, we have to make sure that these positions are attractive to graduates. We should also encourage the promotion of corporate partnerships. This has been a positive move in recent years but a lot more needs to happen in this space. I am aware of one doctoral researcher who has partnered with Fitbit due to her PhD work. The Department should look at supporting individual students as well as supporting private companies through tax breaks, incentives and so on.

I welcome this development and look forward to updates on it in the years ahead.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I warmly welcome Ireland's decision to apply for associate membership of CERN and want to see a strategy of us moving towards full membership. I commend the Minister personally. He has been a big supporter of this. Indeed, he and I laboured in the last Oireachtas to ensure that this got over the line. I also commend his departmental officials on the work done to join the world's largest and possibly most important scientific research centre. I also want to mention the fact that a lot of the campaigning here was led by research students, particularly Michael Mitchell, a PhD candidate in Trinity College. He led on this and sought to influence, correctly, Government policy in this regard. It is not enough for us to just look at joining CERN, however. We need a CERN strategy and I know the Minister believes in this. Such a strategy would look at supporting researchers, our universities and other research institutions partnering with others around the world.

The UCD experimental particle physics group played a role in working with CERN on the Higgs boson discovery. It is important that we partner with the universities and develop that strategy. Ireland has always been committed to multilateralism. I say to Deputy Collins that this is a peaceful institution. It is about global co-operation in the scientific community.

We should go further. There are other organisations I would support us joining, including the Antarctic Treaty Organisation. Given the opportunities that now present with new technologies, a CERN for artificial intelligence, in which Ireland could play a leading role, is something we should consider. I thank the Minister and his Department for their work.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this discussion. As other speakers said, it is important that we move in the near future to full membership of CERN. It is an incredible organisation at the cutting edge of science. The health sciences showed us during the Covid years how important it is for countries to work beyond international borders. Scientific questions, health problems and crises no longer follow the linear boundaries of nation states but move far beyond them. If we are to advance scientific causes further, we need to work on a transnational basis with European partners and organisations like CERN.

In realm of cutting-edge science, we saw during the previous Dáil term Ireland's first satellite launch into space. Yet, the national aviation policy still speaks of things like commercial air traffic and cargo traffic. It does not refer to any of the new forms of aviation. I thank the Minister for recently visiting the University of Limerick, where he saw how aviation and undersea robotics are advancing. I hope that is an area on which he will give further leadership within his Department.

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Ireland's associate membership of CERN and, like others, I would encourage our moving towards full membership. I acknowledge the work done in this regard by the Minister, by Deputy Malcolm Byrne and by the previous Oireachtas. We really need to focus on the many positives coming out of this. The most important thing to bear in mind is that we get far more out of our associate membership than we put into it. There are opportunities for PhD students, researchers and staff and also in terms of the contracts that will be available to Irish companies in the future. Studying physics in secondary school, I was surprised to learn Ireland was not a member of CERN. It is great to see this step forward. I welcome our associate membership and look forward to seeing us progress to full membership in the future.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is one of those people who was certain about CERN a long time ago. While that organisation might operate at the speed of light, the implementation of our associate membership, unfortunately, did not. This is a small step in some ways but it also represents an important underlining of the investment by Governments over many decades in education and research, which has put Ireland and the Irish population in a place where we can benefit from international investment. All of that has helped to create jobs and generate the proceeds of taxation we can use to progress further. This development is another step forward in providing access for Irish researchers to a very important facility.

The Minister was in DCU a few months ago to open the new Polaris building. Students there will have access to its facilities and will be able to progress their research. I thank the Minister for the work he has done. As others have said, we need to go further and create the demand for a sufficient number to avail of the new opportunities in order that we can go to full membership. To do that, we must encourage those involved in research centres in our universities and elsewhere.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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This is a fantastic and really important opportunity for Ireland. I applaud those who have pushed it, particularly our academics. They are not gold-plated academics, as described by another Deputy in an absolutely glib and throwaway remark. That remark is part of the myopia that sometimes goes along with initiatives that involve spending money. An investment of €1.9 million in the context of what we spend on research in this country is insignificant but it gives us access to a very significant resource. It gives our academics, who are at the coalface of genuinely practical research, an opportunity to join with their international colleagues in making real progress on the questions that affect us, energy being the obvious one. The potential for solutions in the area of energy generation is enormous.

Why would certain commentators stop at making glib remarks like the one I mentioned? Why not also throw out the idea of being opposed to our membership of CERN in case its research is used for military purposes? This is despite the fact the founding documents of CERN specifically preclude any involvement in producing material for military use. CERN has been a very strong proponent of non-proliferation since its inception. Part of the myopia I mentioned is wanting to score a point and throwing an idea out there to try to confuse matters and give people a reason this might not be a good idea. In fact, there is nothing bad in this proposal. It is inexpensive in the scheme of things, even though it involves a huge amount of money, but the access it gives to our academics makes us part of an international community of which we always should always have been a part.

My understanding is that once we become associate members of CERN, 25 of the 27 European Union member states, with the exception of Slovenia and Malta, will be either full members or associate members. Why would we not want to be part of that club? Why would we not want our academics, our researchers in particle physics and nuclear physics and our engineers to have the opportunity to join with their international colleagues in CERN and be part of what are some of the biggest and most important research projects in the world? It is a wonderful initiative. I applaud the Government for bringing forward this proposal and the Minister for his work on it. I look forward to the fruits that will be gathered by our academics, our economy and our people from being part of this important endeavour.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí Dála a labhair sa díospóireacht seo. It has been a worthwhile debate. I welcome the support for the motion from across the House. What is rare is wonderful. We do not see such agreement often but, when we do, it is something to celebrate. I thank the Deputies on all sides of the Chamber who contributed.

I acknowledge the contribution of the scientific community to this achievement. I visited CERN for the first time in 2018 as an Opposition spokesperson. Professor Ronan McNulty of UCD really led the charge on this for many years. He invited me along on that trip, together with Dr. Kevin Byrne and his brother Dr. Joe Byrne. Professor Sinéad Ryan, now dean of research at Trinity College, who was also there, has been an advocate in this area for a long time. There are many others, some of whom were mentioned in the course of this debate, who laboured in the vineyard for some time to make this happen. It is a cause for great celebration and acclaim for them as they see their efforts rewarded and brought to fruition.

We are able now to take the next step and avail of the opportunities this creates for the Irish academic community. There are plans to leverage our membership. A national advisory council will be set up to grow the research community and the research capacity in particle physics and the related disciplines that concern CERN. We must take full advantage of the opportunities that present. Deputy Byrne talked about a CERN strategy; the national advisory council will be in a similar vein. There may well be an industrial liaison officer as part of that exercise.

As noted in the debate, this development is about a tremendous academic collaboration but it is also an industrial, enterprise and research endeavour. There are opportunities for Irish businesses and enterprises to be part of the wider journey and, in fact, that is already happening. At the institutional level, Munster Technological University and Trinity College are both engaged in collaborations. Tyndall National Institute in Cork has a collaboration.

The fulcrum of activity at CERN is high-end research and seeking to unmask the secrets of the universe through high-end collisions and the operation of the Large Hadron Collider. However, it also offers every sort of supporting technology. When I was there, I witnessed high-performance computing, stacks of Oracle mainframes and servers and a range of data analytics. There was great engineering prowess involved in the tunnelling to create the Large Hadron Collider. There are also electrical supports, scanners and detectors. A massive engineering effort, civil, electronic and computer science engineering, goes into that. There are many opportunities, including in the trades, for Irish businesses to co-operate and contribute. I expect we will see that right across every spectrum of activity, with a huge opportunity to contribute.

Several Deputies mentioned PhD students. I am working to increase the level of support provided to researchers across the board. I draw attention to a recent letter to The Irish Times from Professor John Doyle of DCU in which he compared the situation of a student on a PhD stipend of €25,000 with that of a worker earning the same rate.

It is not like for like because PhD students have their fees paid, they do not pay any deductions, there is no PAYE or PRSI on that stipend and they may be in receipt of grant funding as well. It was well put in that letter.

Deputy Jen Cummins spoke about the importance at primary and pre-primary level. Recently I participated in the Curious Minds initiative by Research Ireland, which encourages awareness in primary schools. It was pivotal that I was able to travel to Geneva to sign the treaty. It was only possible because Deputy Gogarty allowed me to be paired for the election of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, at a time when pairs were not forthcoming from other sides of the House. I thank him for that. Deputy Gogarty made a real practical contribution that day by agreeing to pair with me so I could attend without any fear that any votes might be lost along the way. That was very important.

We are signing today as associate members. It is important to understand that this is something that has very much been the mark set in conjunction with the research community. A question was asked about why we have not taken out full membership. This is a level to which we aspire and to which we intend to grow. The research community is of a size and scale that associate membership is appropriate. This view is shared by the research community and CERN but it is a journey. As we grow our engagement, involvement and capacity, the intention is that the bandwidth will grow also. We may well aspire to full membership in due course and I will support that journey, but this is the right approach and level to enter on and it is something we do with the full support and faith of the research community. It is very much a testament to it and I thank all those who have laboured in the vineyard to make this happen. I look forward to it bearing fruit.