Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I would also like to welcome members of the research community who are present. There is an enormous interest in this issue amoung the research community in Ireland, particularly those who are engaged with physics but also I think more widely because of the importance of investment in science and Ireland's participation in multilateral organisations across this area.It is also important, for those from CERN who are watching us today from Geneva, that the message goes out from this Chamber and indeed from Ireland that this Government and the country are very committed to Ireland finally joining CERN. We have been an outlier for so long, even though we are a country that is very committed to multilateralism. The fact that we have not joined CERN in spite of numerous recommendations, including by Oireachtas committees, has been a disappointment. That said, it is very welcome that the Government and both the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Harris, have taken the approach to very clearly move towards Ireland's membership of CERN, with first associate membership and then full membership.

I also thank the Minister's officials for the work they have been carrying out in the background. I am very conscious that this is not simply a process of filling in a one-page form and sending it to Geneva. It requires quite a lot of work. I had hoped, as the Minister of State will be aware, that we would be aiming for the June CERN Council meeting and making initial moves at that stage. I am glad that there are very clear timeframes now set on the record of the House and I sincerely hope that there will be no slippage on the dates that have been given.

We have talked about this crucial aspect before. It is not just about Ireland joining the organisation; we must develop a CERN strategy so that apart from our membership we look at how we as a country can contribute, how our scientists, engineers and others can get involved in the process and, equally, how Ireland can benefit. It is not just about CERN. It is about all the other organisations that Ireland is a member of at European and global levels. We need to effectively communicate the benefit of membership of these organisations. We need to put on record our thanks to those staff and officials in CERN who have been engaged quite actively in this process and to all the stakeholders who are here. The message that needs to come out of this set of statements today is that we are resolute, that Ireland will finally get our application over the line. I hope the Minister of State or the Minister will come back in when the submission has been made at the time of the CERN Council meeting in October to give us an update on what is happening then.

On behalf of everybody in these Houses, the Minister of State can rest assured that he, his Department and his officials have our full support and co-operation. We owe this to our scientific community here in Ireland, not just so they have the opportunity to benefit from membership of CERN but so our many wonderful scientists and researchers have the chance to contribute.