Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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293. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in view of the fact that Ireland is not a member of CERN and this places Irish secondary school students at a disadvantage, relative to their British, French, Italian and Spanish counterparts, if there are plans in place for Ireland to apply for limited membership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49455/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland's membership of international research organisations must be predicated on whether the benefit of membership, in terms of support to Irish researchers, companies and jobs, justifies the cost involved.

For example, in the case of the European Space Agency, Ireland has chosen to pursue membership because of the major benefits that can accrue to innovative Irish companies in the sector, where Irish companies have established expertise, exports and employment.

My Department, through its industrial and scientific advisory agency, Forfás, commissioned an expert report by consultants Georgia Tech to examine the case for Irish participation in a number of intergovernmental research organisations, one of which was CERN. That Report, in 2001, concluded that, because of high costs and limited potential industrial development returns, membership should not be a priority. Since then, of course, the severely depleted resources available has meant that there is an even greater imperative to ensure that publicly funded research and development will yield the maximum benefits for the country – most particularly in terms of downstream jobs.

As the Deputy is no doubt aware, the Government’s priority in the area of science, technology and innovation is to implement the recommendations of the National Research Prioritisation Exercise which will see the majority of public research funding aligned with 14 priority areas where we are most likely to get economic and social returns, particularly in the form of jobs. The Steering Group which undertook the exercise included representatives of the enterprise sector and its terms of reference specifically required that it take account of complementary developments at EU level and other international initiatives. Research in the area of particle physics was not identified as a priority nor was there any recommendation that Ireland should join CERN.

The costs of full membership of CERN are understood to be over €10 million per annum. In addition to substantial fees for any type of membership, it is important to note that significant extra amounts of expenditure would be necessitated in order to ensure that Ireland benefits fully from membership. While other associate membership options may be available involving lesser amounts, the issue remains that a decision about joining CERN must take into consideration the opportunity costs involved, as payment of any fees would mean that less funding is available for our existing research priorities.

I am not aware that the fact that Ireland is not a member of CERN places Irish secondary students at a particular disadvantage relative to their UK, French, Italian or Spanish counterparts. However, should budgetary circumstances change over the next few years, the question of membership of CERN could be reviewed again but only if there is a compelling business case from a cost/benefit viewpoint. Also, the selected national research priority areas will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure their continued relevance and to also ensure that new opportunities are identified.