Address By Mr. Noel Treacy T.D.Minister For Science Technology & COMMERCE At the Award Ceremony for the Science and Technology Journalism Awards 2000On Thursday 7th December 2000 at 12.00 Noon In The Old Jameson Distillery, Bow Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7

It is a great pleasure for me to represent the Government here today, at the second national science and technology journalism awards, which are jointly sponsored by IBM and the Science Technology and Innovation Awareness Programme.

We launched these Awards last year in recognition of the excellent work that the media are doing in highlighting Science and Technology and to make a serious attempt to pay tribute to the professionalism and excellence of a great number of media people. Nevertheless, it was a new initiative and as with any new initiative, there was some trepidation among the sponsors and organisers as to whether there would be enough entries, whether the standard would be high enough, and whether science and technology journalism is so highly specialised that there might simply not be enough people to take part in a new competition of this sort?

We discovered, last year, that there was no need to worry. There is a great deal of work going on in this field of science & technology journalism in Ireland. It is of a very high standard, and there is more than enough to give the panel of judges a difficult challenge in picking out the best.

This year has been no exception. The standard of entries has been extremely high and each of the winners here today has something to be really proud of. They have been judged to be the best at a time when there is a very considerable body of excellent work going on all over Ireland.

So I am delighted that now, in their second year, it is already safe to say that these awards are firmly established. They give us all a chance to acknowledge the important contribution made to public awareness by both the broadcast and print media available in Ireland, and to praise the genuinely good and creative work involved.

In my profession, we can sometimes come to believe that the one thing the media is most decidedly not interested in is public information and awareness. It can be intensely frustrating at times to know that there are issues around where public debate is essential, and public education and information is of critical importance, and yet it can sometimes be impossible to get the media to address these vital issues.

It is often the case therefore, that public debate only happens when issues are presented in clear and concise ways through good journalism. Even so, it can be hard to attract the attention of journalists to issues that are more important than controversial, or more useful to the community at large as opposed to sensational.

I know many journalists will say that politicians in particular have no business drawing attention to these things. Many journalists believe that those of us in politics would prefer the media to spend all of its time covering only the things that we want to see covered, and ignoring the very occasional thing we would like to see ignored! But the truth is that there has to be a balance. The media does its job best, and serves the public interest best, by getting all of the news out there. And that’s just as true whether the news of the day is about some sensational political development, or about some vitally important but perhaps less exciting public policy development.

Thankfully, the science and technology sector cannot be said to suffer from media neglect. And that is vital for two main reasons. First and foremost scientific research and technological development are playing an ever-greater role in all of our lives. As someone whose profession depends upon democracy it is crucial, that as concerned citizens, the public are well informed not merely about the technical details but more importantly about the implications for our national economy and our lives generally. Secondly, the issues may be sometimes very complex.

One area that in my personal view could benefit from improvement is that of the direct dialogue between the research community and the public. Scientists and the media need to work more closely together. Scientists need to be more aware of the social implications of their research and its applications and of the need to tell the public about their very important work. Direct dialogue with the public should be the norm and integrated as part of a researcher’s training and of everyday responsibility. The media should respond and encourage this direct interaction.

In doing so, you, the media, have enhanced the awareness of a crucially important element of Ireland’s economic development, and thereby encouraged public debate. In short, you have performed a valuable public service, and lived up to the best traditions of your honourable profession.

I want to conclude by sincerely thanking the sponsors of these Awards, IBM Ireland, for their initiative and support, which has been crucial to the rapid development of these Awards. I also want also to thank our organisers, Forfás, who run the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Awareness Programme on behalf of our Office of Science and Technology. The STI Awareness Programme continues to promote the key messages that science, technology and innovation:

• Develops leading edge industry and skilled jobs,
• Creates excellent career options, and
• Develops creativity in our children.

This message is promoted through a number of key events held during the year such as the National Innovation Awards, the Irish Innovation Lecture and of course, Science Week Ireland which took place nationwide last month. These events all aim to influence the public perception and the understanding of science and you here today play a major role in getting that message to the public at large. I am very grateful to IBM Ireland and the STI Awareness Programme for developing this award scheme to reward you for contributing to the process of demystifying science and technology for the general public.

Finally, may I thank the panel of judges, Prof. Paul Engel from UCD, Mr. Ronan Brady of the NUJ, Ms. Mary Mulvihill of the Irish Science & Technology Journalists Association (ISTJA), Mr. Dick Ryan of IDA Ireland, Mr. Leo Enright, Dr Barry Devlin of IBM Ireland and Mr. Matt Moran of the Irish Pharmaceutical & Chemical Manufacturers Federation, for all of the time they have given to this competition. Special thanks are due to the Panel’s Chair and our Master of Ceremonies today, Mr. Pat Kenny. He gives considerable time and effort to this competition, and I’m told by those who know that his chairing is both firm and fair – he’s hardly had to use the yellow card at all! Thank you all sincerely.