John Crown (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join with colleagues in welcoming the Minister to the House. There are many nice aspects to being in Seanad Éireann, but one of the nicer ones is that no one is ever in the press gallery and few are in the public Gallery. It is like having a private audience with the Minister. He must forgive me if I take this opportunity to try to earwig him regarding a matter that is relevant to the reform of the early part of secondary school.

I have mentioned it previously, namely, that every student should do some science every year until the day he or she leaves school, hopefully not younger than approximately 18 years of age. It should not just be done by people who are good at science or will make their careers in science. It should also be done by those who will become poets, philosophers, trade union activists, public representatives and accountants. Everyone should do science because it is the language of the universe in which we live and provides the explanations for the phenomena that we see daily. The failure of an electorate or citizenry to be scientifically literate will pose colossal problems.

I was reminded of this issue when I read an extraordinary story from Italy that rang of Copernicus and Galileo. Six scientists have been arrested, face years in prison and may also face civil litigation for the crime of not being able to do something that no one can do, namely, predict earthquakes. This spoke profoundly-----