Speech by An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen T.D at a Visit to St. Aloysius College, Carrigtwohill, Cork, Friday, 5 February, 2010 at 2.00pm
I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet with you. Thanks very much to your Principal, Tony Lee, for the invitation.
I was asked to speak to you today about current issues and Government policy and their implications for your choice of career.
Economy:
As you all know, our economy has come under enormous pressure because of the global economic and financial crisis and a dramatic correction to our property market. And as a result - because economies are about people - a lot of families and individuals around the country are under pressure as well.
The Government has been working hard to put our house in order and in particular, to bring stability to our public finances and our banking system. There's a lot more work to be done and more tough decisions ahead of us but we are making good progress. And we hope to see a return to economic growth in the course of this year and to begin the process of reversing the job losses.
Smart Economy:
In addition to dealing with the immediate crisis, though, the Government has also been preparing for the future. The lesson from the past is that as well as weathering the storm, countries need to prepare for the next wave of economic growth. This is what Finland did. It suffered a severe recession in the early 1990s but came out of it much stronger because it focused on research into telecommunications and IT. There can be few people around the world who haven't heard about Nokia!
We in Ireland were one of the first countries off the blocks in the current recession with a plan for repositioning our economy. This is the Smart Economy plan which we launched in December, 2008.
Basically, it is all about turning the country into a powerhouse for innovation and commercialisation - for coming up with new ideas and turning them into goods and services that we can sell on world markets.
Need for Scientists, Technologists, Engineers and Mathematicians (STEM):
We will need a lot of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians if we are to realise our Smart Economy plan and I would certainly encourage young people to consider a career in these areas. There is a whole range of interesting options, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, physics, chemistry, nanotechnology, computer science, engineering, the environment, food science and sport science.
Ireland's Scientific Heritage:
We in Ireland have a very respectable scientific heritage. Think of George Boole, the father of computer science who was the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork, now UCC. Or Dubliner, William Rowan Hamilton, who discovered the revolutionary algebra used today in GPS and by Irish companies in computer games. Or Robert Boyle, born at Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford, who gave his name to a fundamental law of chemistry. Interestingly, there are statues of Hamilton and Boyle on either side of the entrance to Government Buildings, which were originally designed in part to house the College of Science.
Irish Women Scientists:
There are some great Irish women scientists as well. Kathleen Lonsdale, from Newbridge, Co. Kildare, was one of the foremost X-ray crystallographers of the twentieth century. And then there is Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the Belfast born astrophysicist, still going strong, who first discovered pulsars - I'll leave it to your science teacher to explain it all to you! She was voted one of the most inspirational women scientists of all time in an online poll last year. And Dublin born Professor Eleanor Maguire has carried out groundbreaking research on ways of using brain scanners to read people's memories! I saw in the news yesterday that this technique has been used to communicate with a man who has been in a coma - like state for five years. Can mind - reading be far off?
I know that you were highly commended in this year's Young Scientist Exhibition and that you have a strong science set up here in this school. It would be nice to think that here this afternoon are some of the talented Irish scientists of the future.
Many Other Skills and Talents Needed:
Obviously, the disciplines in question are not for everybody and a country needs all kinds of other skills and talents to function properly. For example, entrepreneurial skills, language skills, artistic skills, caring skills, teaching skills. We will need people with a mix of skills. We will need people to go into medicine and nursing. We'll need teachers. We'll need people with good business heads. We'll need carers and caterers. We'll need professionals like doctors, dentists, accountants. We will need people to work in industry, in the small business sector, in the services sector, in administration, in the public service, in retail, in tourism and on the land. And more besides, including jobs that haven't even been thought of yet! As I'm sure you know, there is a huge range of interesting and rewarding career choices available to you, something to suit everyone. And ultimately, the Smart Economy isn't just about scientists and the like: it's about all of us using our heads, doing things better, getting more for less, making the best of our talents, thinking creatively about what might be. Speaking of which, congratulations to Laura Delaney on winning the Cobh tourism award last month for her tourism vision for Spike Island.
Conclusion:
All of you here today have talents - and you will all in your own way help to shape the Ireland of tomorrow - and, perhaps, tomorrow's world. Enjoy your time in school, and develop the habits of inquiring and creating and thinking for yourselves that will help you to get the most out of life. I know your school celebrates its 70th birthday this year - but you have your whole lives ahead of you!
ENDS.