Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Listening to the reply that has been prepared for the Minister of State, I am reminded of the Oscar Wilde description of a cynic as somebody who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. It is clear the Minister of State's response has been written by an accountant. It has not been written by somebody who appreciates the value of research. The Minister of State will appreciate, especially in the context of the battle against Covid-19, the importance of international collaboration in the area of research. I am not saying the figures the Minister of State has outlined are insignificant but there is considerable potential in terms of what Ireland can gain for its research community and what it can contribute. Ireland should be to the fore in contributing to the international scientific community. We have some wonderful researchers here.

I respect that there has been progress, but the issue I have is that we have been talking about this for the past decade. We indicated our intentions clearly in 2016. An Oireachtas committee recommended membership in 2019. I ask the Minister of State to please get on with it. Let us join CERN and allow Ireland's researchers to contribute at an international level to the scientific community.