I move: "That the Seanad is of opinion that better provision should be made for the encouragement and organisation of scientific and industrial research." The subject is one of importance, and my object in putting it down was to direct attention to its importance, to give an opportunity to the Minister to state the views of his Department and of the Government generally upon the subject, and if the Seanad were favourable to give him, as Minister, the strength that he probably needs in putting his case to the Minister for Finance in preparation for next year's Estimates. The position in regard to scientific and industrial research is that in 1915, during the war, there was established in Great Britain an organisation with this specific object. Ireland was then under the jurisdiction of the British Parliament and, of course, participated as such in any work that was done by that organisation in scientific or industrial research. The immediate purpose of that organisation had regard to the situation arising out of the war, the possibility of war production and more permanently the situation that would face British industry after the war was over. It was felt that rival industrial countries had advanced very much further than Britain had done, and if Britain were to keep her trade and maintain the advantageous position she had it was necessary to promote industrial research on scientific lines, and generally to keep ahead in that particular struggle and competition. Since the change in political relations there has been no organisation of the kind set up in this country. Looking through the Estimates, taking all the Estimates that one can, the utmost I can find as even being within the remote possibility of being brought under this head is that we are voting about £10,700. Of that, £8,000 is mainly agricultural, and a good part of the remainder is very doubtfully regarded under this heading, and, in fact, it may be said that there is very little State money going to the financing of research. There is, so far as one can gather, no organisation and co-ordination of that research, and as a consequence such progress as is being made in other countries in this respect is being made at the expense, in the world competition, of this country.
It is, therefore, of very great importance that whatever can be done to stimulate the research work, to organise and direct it into right lines and useful channels, should be done and that it should be taken in hands as early as possible.
One could go into a great deal of detail, but I do not want to detain the House too long. The sum of £700 was voted in this year's Estimates as research grants to students. I think that sum is probably in the main not wholly devoted to research in pure science and probably not much of it is being devoted to that particular kind of work that is necessary to bring scientific discovery into direct relationship with industrial activities. There is undoubtedly a good deal of work being done under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture of a research kind. How much of that could be related to industrial activity I do not know. I do not know whether anybody knows. I think there is no co-ordinating authority. There is nobody who has the responsibility of preventing overlapping of this kind of industrial and scientific research, and there is no touch, as far as I can gather, between the work being done under the professors of one university and similar work being done under professors of other universities. We do not know whether any of the industries of the country have research departments and are doing scientific research for their own betterment and benefit, and whether there is any waste of effort of this kind.
The object of the department that was set up in Britain—similar organisations have been set up in South Africa, Canada and Australia—is, as was described very succinctly by Lord Balfour, to shorten the passage between pure science and pure industry, to bring those research students into fruitful study and to relate their work to practical application in industrial activities. I read, for instance, in a recent report just one of the very many illustrations of what is being done by one of the associations which have been formed under the auspices of the research organisation in Great Britain. I should say that under the general control of this organisation the various industries have set up their own research organisations. In the main those industrial organisations are fairly wealthy and extensive, and are able in a degree to finance their own work. They are aided by grants from this association. There are research associations associated with the building and wool industry. As we know, in the North of Ireland there is a good deal of research in connection with the linen industry and so on. I want to draw attention to this little illustration of the value in one respect of the Wool Research Association. It is from the report for 1927-28. It reads:
"The Wool Research Association has succeeded in introducing this year a new woollen ring-spinning frame which is believed to be capable of producing two and a half times as much yarn per spindle as the standard frame and of giving a superior yarn."
That I just quote because we have a wool industry and a woollen cloth-making industry in this country. Unless by some means it is possible for the woollen manufacturers of this country to take advantage of any research results that are being arrived at in Great Britain, it is inevitable that the industry in this country will fail in the competition, and unless we are progressing scientifically in industrial affairs with other countries, no tariff or no protection that we could possibly conceive of would save the industries of this country. This is quite utilitarian, and it is likely to be the most fruitful expenditure that public money, well directed, could be applied to. The need is probably greater here than in industrially advanced countries for Government stimulation, a Governmental organ or an organ initiated at the expense of the Government for the encouragement and development of this kind of work. The British organisation and the Canadian, and, I think, the South African, are based upon advisory committees which consist mainly of scientists combined with men actually engaged in industrial activities. These associations are charged with assisting, encouraging, and co-ordinating work of scientific research. What seems to me to be required greatly here is some organisation of the kind, and State money advanced to aid the students, both the novices and the advanced students, to train them in research methods, and, where the student is advanced and is working on a particular line which has the promise of success, that he should be assisted by grants to carry on the work for a few years until he has been tried out and success or failure has been decided. We have had, though we do not know a great deal about it, within the last year or two a good deal of encouragement in the fact that one research student, Dr. Drumm, has been engaged in the practical application of scientific knowledge. I have no more knowledge about that experiment and that proposal than anybody has who reads the newspapers. But I say that even though that were a complete failure, any money that has been spent upon it would be very well spent, having regard to the encouragement that it is giving to young men and young women who have a scientific bent to apply their brains to work that they believe shows some chance of success. There is not only one man of that calibre in this country, I am sure. I am quite sure that in the case of the universities, and even in the case of those who have gone through universities, if we had some scheme whereby men could be encouraged to spend their time in this particular work we would find, and it would be maintained during their application to that work, that that work would eventually be of real benefit to the country and to its prosperity.
One does not want to prophesy what could be done in this, that or the other thing, or even to indicate lines in which research would probably prove fruitful. These are matters for the scientists, and for those who have accurate knowledge of this kind of thing. One can surely surmise that in the deposits of this country there are potentialities, if scientific minds were directed to searching out the possibilities of utilising those peat deposits for the general well-being. We have been told that there are mineral deposits of various kinds in certain parts of the country. These two should be not only discovered, but the best use to which they could be put found out. There are numerous ways in which one could suggest that scientific research would be valuable to the country, but unless our students are directed in the best methods of research, and unless they are encouraged to carry out their research for the direct purpose of applying their knowledge to practical results, we shall not get the benefit of their university training. They will be lost to the country. Even though I must admit that we may have to run the risk of losing them to the country after having perhaps spent money on their scholarships and grants, it is miserable to think that so little of the public moneys is being devoted to this work, and that so far as one can find out, so little of private moneys is being devoted to this work. One reads of certain discoveries. Even within the last month or two we have heard of the utilisation, by certain methods, of residue from gas works in Belfast as being potentially a very valuable motive agent.
I am quite sure that there are numerous methods in which money, time, and brains can be profitably used in this matter. I would urge that there is very great need for a good deal of attention being paid to this work in this country, of encouraging the students to devote their attention to the work, of properly directing their work, co-ordinating it, and preventing overlapping, and of inducing the industrialists of the country to spend their time and their money in cooperating with whatever authority may be set up to further the work of scientific research.
I would like Senators to direct some attention to the importance of this subject. Perhaps if the Minister has an open mind on the matter he will give some personal attention to the organisation of a permanent scheme. It might not be very satisfactory, if there were another Dr. Drumm, that the promise of his work should be dependent upon the chance co-operation of a Minister who might be enthusiastic in supporting it. We do not want to run the risk of the work of such a man being lost. We want to have something in the nature of a permanent organisation to which such a man could present his proposals and suggestions. If these proposals gave any faint promise of success, the originator would have some assurance that he would be maintained during the carrying out of researches.
