Renewing the Republic

Madam, – I am surprised that Deputy Joanna Tuffy fails to distinguish between the electoral needs and nature of a regional assembly…

Madam, – I am surprised that Deputy Joanna Tuffy fails to distinguish between the electoral needs and nature of a regional assembly and those of a sovereign national legislature (July 7th).

If she checked her facts before she wrote she could have learnt from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (www.idea.int/esd/world.cfm) that my statement is not “wholly inaccurate”, or even partially so: Ireland and Malta are the only countries in the world that still retain the STV (single transferable vote) system. – Yours, etc,

Dr EDWARD WALSH,

(Founding president of the University of Limerick),

Newport,

Co Tipperary.

Madam, – Dr Ed Walsh’s article regarding the lack of scientists in the higher political echelons (Opinion, July 6th) requires some reflexivity. While evidence abounds regarding the lack of scientific qualifications among the Irish political elite, the reasons for this are deeper than Dr Walsh outlines.

Key reasons lie within the science community itself. 1. The number of politically active science undergraduates is normally minuscule compared to the arts. 2. The skill-sets required to succeed in the political arena are only now beginning to be taught and valued within formal science education. 3. Professional scientists rarely obtain rewards or formal merit from interacting with the policy world. For example, scientific outreach or communication is still often done from the side of one’s desk or bench. 4. Equally importantly, many scientists believe that the public sphere just doesn’t understand science. In fact, I have found the reverse to hold true.

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Upon deciding to do policy research on scientific issues after my degree, one of my lecturers looked puzzled and dismissively asked “Where is the discovery in that?” Subsequently, having made a career at the science/policy interface, I can report many a fascinating discovery. Nevertheless, the late great scientist Leó Szilárd captures the oft problematic science/policy relationship most distinctly in his quote: “When a scientist says something, his colleagues must ask themselves only whether it is true. When a politician says something, his colleagues must first of all ask, ‘Why does he say it?” Thus, while agreeing with Dr Walsh that radical reform of governance and public administration in Ireland is required, I would add that the Irish science community must not only be willing to play a proactive role in this reform, but must also be competent to do so. – Yours, etc,

SHANE H MORRIS BSc,

Research Fellow,

Department of Botany and Plant Science,

National University of Ireland,

Galway.