Vol. 524 No. 2
138 Ms Clune asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress to date in developing a science museum; the plans she has towards developing such a project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22329/00]
In April of this year I wrote to Forfás indicating that I believed the absence of an interactive science centre in Ireland is a significant disadvantage both in encouraging our young people to pursue the study of mathematics, science, engineering and allied subjects and in promoting a greater public knowledge and awareness of the contribution which science and engineering make to social and economic development.
In this context, I asked Forfás to bring forward proposals for the establishment of an appropriate science centre or centres which would contribute to the public understanding of science and engineering. Since then, a dedicated task force in Forfás under the aegis of the Irish Council for Science, Technology and Innovation – ICSTI – has addressed this issue and a report was recently submitted to me. This report strongly endorses the concept of science centres, which have proved both popular and successful in other countries, and makes detailed recommendations for developing a suitable Irish model.
