Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is appropriate that Senator Boylan is chairing this debate, given her commitment in life to science and the education of young people in that respect.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I heard some of what the Minister, Deputy Harris, said. I am glad that science is a key commitment of their Department, given that it is extremely important. Recently, we have witnessed how science has saved many lives; it created the Covid-19 vaccines. It is incredible that, less than 12 months into a pandemic, science was able to create vaccines that could protect many people. Every penny that we spend on science is money well spent.

I applaud the Minister of State and the Minister for trying to bring science to the ordinary citizen. For too long, science has spoken to itself and created an intellectual superiority, but every individual in our country can embrace science once science embraces him or her. The conversations that the Minister of State and Minister are having and the programmes they have launched to promote science among ordinary people are welcome.

Senator Dolan is present. The work she did in research and agribusiness before becoming a Senator was scientific. Her commitment in that area is second to none. Farmers are good scientists. We can see what is happening in the Burren. My colleague beside me knows the Burrenbeo project and the Burren conservation project, which involve people examining a problem and coming up with a solution that is good for the environment, agriculture and humanity.

For people with disabilities, the difference that science can make and the advances in technology are phenomenal. For the blind and visually impaired community across the world, there are iPads, computers and iPhones whose print can be enlarged with the click of a finger. That option was not available 20 or 30 years ago. This change was because of science and because educated people who were dedicated to creativity created something that could be mass produced to help people.

We need to increase our investment in science and research and support what is happening in our universities in that regard. If we do so, we will reap the reward as a society in an infinite way. It is incredible what science has achieved and its potential is phenomenal.