Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, for this debate. Science was never my strong subject at school. When I met my old science teacher lately, we reminisced about my participation in science, but my talents, limited as they are, lay elsewhere. They were geared more towards music when I was at school.

This morning, as I was gathering my thoughts for my contribution to the debate on a subject which was not my forté, I wondered what I could say about science. As I drove down the motorway from Dundalk to Dublin, I appreciated the simplistic motion of turning the key in the ignition and driving off. As I reached the halfway point between Dundalk and Drogheda I thought about a local man from County Louth who had been forgotten by many but who was still very much a part of our lives and the enjoyment we experienced every day. He was the Reverend Professor Nicholas Callan from Darver, County Louth. My initial research indicated that he had invented the induction coil in 1836. As I stated, I was never a very good science student, but we know the induction coil is still in use today, powering, for example, car ignition systems. When a car breaks down, we all learn what an induction coil does. It is also used in televisions and other electronic devices. What Reverend Professor Nicholas Callan achieved so many years ago was dangerous and many people thought it was impossible. By 1837, one year after inventing the induction coil, he was generating an estimated 60,000 volts of electricity in his laboratory in St. Patrick's College in Maynooth. I spoke to somebody earlier who told me a hall was dedicated to him - Callan Hall - because of his work. His invention revolutionised the way in which we travelled. Before 1926 all cars used a hand-crank to start and required physical labour, but after that date every Ford Model T came equipped with starting batteries. Reverend Professor Nicholas Callan's induction coil made it possible to start a car with the power of a small battery. This improvement to the Ford Model T gave it further mass appeal. Like most geniuses, Reverend Professor Nicholas Callan was not appreciated for or credited with his invention until almost 70 years after his death. I was amazed that I had not known about this man before I carried out research for this debate. We may all take for granted the simplicity of turning a key in the ignition to start a car. We have so many famous Irish people that can be credited with wonderful inventions such as this.

I commend initiatives such as Science Week, as they are so important in generating curiosity among students. For example, when I taught I took students to W5 in Belfast. There have been conferences held as part of Science Week which have proved really beneficial in introducing young people to the simple pleasures and learning experiences involved in science.

I know of many great events taking place in my own county, which include moonlit archaeological and geological walks and photo competitions. I am aware of an especially interesting event that will take place this Thursday, hosted by the Mourne Cooley Gullion Geotourism project, on Carlingford and its castle in the middle ages. I am delighted that a past pupil alerted me to it and I hope to attend the event.

Events and weeks such as this bring science to the fore and hopefully spark an interest or get young people to think of science in a different way. It is like the week when we have the Young Scientist exhibition. It is something for which I never managed to qualify but attended on many occasions. In recent years it has become one of the high points in the school calendar. Students attend the exhibition and appreciate the work of their peers. Some of the projects in recent years have been overwhelming in terms of the thought processes behind them. Ireland has a strong reputation for science, as evidenced by Nicholas Callan, but also by the fact that it has won the top prize at the European Union contest for young scientists 16 times, most recently with the win by the three young ladies from the Minister of State’s county of Cork.

Day in and day out we discuss the impact of the downturn in the economy on the jobs market and the people who visit our offices every day. Science can play a key role in helping to fix the jobs crisis. The unemployment rate among science professionals comes in at less than 3% compared with a higher national average. The sector is crying out for young scientists from this country. Studying science at third level does not only have to be about laboratory research, it could mean a career in computer gaming, energy, sports, agriculture or any number of other professions. Science is versatile and can bring one to any number of places. Let us take the example of Nicholas Callan from Louth – this is the last time I will mention him – the fifth child born into a family of seven in 1799 who entered Maynooth college at the age of 17, studied in Rome, became the chair of the physics department in Maynooth and lived to the age of 65 and whose memory, through the invention of the induction coil, is still remembered today. It just proves that much is possible through science.