Ireland ‘missing out’ by not joining Cern

There are growing calls for Ireland to join the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) in order to capitalise on €300m worth of commercial projects as well as encouraging more Irish students to enter the scientific field.

Irish science bodies, IT organisations, business representatives, and politicians have echoed the call of Cork senator Colm Burke, who said Ireland needs to become a full member of Cern or risk missing out on €300m of contracts.

Founded in 1954, the Cern laboratory near Geneva was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 22 member states.