John Crown (Independent)

Dublin will be the European City of Science for 2012, with a major symposium in July with a focus on scientific achievement in this country. I was pleased to note recently that Ireland has now been ranked third in the world for immunology, which is a burgeoning and critically important area of human biomedical science. It is also ranked eighth in the world for field of material science. We have come a long way in terms of advances in science which can bring huge spin-off benefits for the country.

I would like the Leader to raise two points with the relevant Ministers. I tangentially touched on the first point previously. There is a core need for the Department of Education and Skills to develop a core science curriculum for those who will not pursue careers in science but need to understand the subject because it is the language that governs the universe in which we live. Science should be mandatory in the same way that English, mathematics and a foreign language should be mandatory until the day young people leave secondary school. It is an essential part of the skill set that people need to bring with them as they journey through life.

On a second specific point, I ask the Leader to bring to the attention of the Ministers for Health and Education and Skills moves that are afoot in Europe as part of a harmonisation process of the recognition of medical schools to derecognise medical school programmes lasting fewer than six years. These moves reflect a traditionalist European model of medical education. The North American model is for four years of general third level, science-based education followed by four years of postgraduate specialist medical education. Many medical educationalists around the world consider the American superior to the European model in the sense that it encourages those who have shown an aptitude for science and biology and attained a level of chronological maturity - usually their early 20s - at the time they made the decision to go into medicine. This approach is in contrast to what happened in my case where, at the age of 14 years, I chose the subjects I would do following the intermediate certificate examination in order that I would be well positioned to get into medical school.

In addition to the issue of graduate medical schools, the other issue that arises is the fact that many of the medical schools in Britain and Ireland provide medical education over five years. As Ireland follows a British model of medical education, there is a real prospect that there will be a systematic derecognition of medical schools in these islands if the proposed European regulation is pursued. I have been approached by representatives of the Irish medical schools seeking to ensure that this issue is placed on the agenda for public debate. It is the kind of technical, niche area that could easily slip under the radar screen, which could be catastrophic. As we try to position Ireland as a leading country for science, technology, medicine and health care, both in terms of service provision and manufacturing, it is vital that we have the highest possible standard for our medical schools and in terms of international recognition. I ask the Leader to bring this matter to the attention of the relevant Ministers in order that they can raise it in the relevant European fora.