A decline in the numbers taking science in secondary and third level clearly has not dented people's inherent interest and curiosity about science.
Thousands of adults and children have for the past five days streamed into events staged as part of the annual Festival of Science organised by the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The Festival, now in its 165th year, seeks to bring together the public and scientific researchers from the universities and institutes. The goal is to help people understand the value and importance of scientific endeavour. It is a showcase that puts on display the latest discoveries, findings that might bring a change in medical practice, a new type of computer chip or fresh data about the state of the environment. The Festival is presented as an entertainment yet it is about real science and real research so there is nothing frivolous about the quality of the work.
Each year the Festival comes to a new location, a university host who provides space, time and energy to make the event a success. Trinity College has claimed this prize for 2005 and congratulations to them for being willing to take on this challenging task. Nearly half a century has past since the BA last held its Festival in Dublin, in 1957, and much has altered in the intervening years. We have changed from an agrarian to an industrial economy with a strong bias towards high tech employment. The State has opened up internationally, becoming more secular and self reliant in the process. This has engendered a fresh confidence in our capabilities and strengths, ready to move onto a higher plane in our economic maturation.
The world of science offers us this next step and Government policy happily is focused to help achieve this goal. It has made significant funding available in support of scientific research, funding that will allow us to leave behind our role as manufacturers of someone else's discoveries to become an creator of innovation. Conversion to a knowledge-based economy is an admirable and necessary goal if our financial future is to be secured but it will take money and time. It is essential that the Government stick to its promised investment in science despite heavy pressure from the Department of Finance for departmental spending cuts. More than €650million has been invested in research so far under the terms of the National Development Plan, which runs through 2006. Breaking the momentum created by the programme so far could hamper early faltering steps towards an economy based on intellect.