I wish to move the Seanad a little away from parochial issues to look to the stars and mention Laurence O'Rourke from County Westmeath, one of the joint leaders of the Rosetta project. He is one of the two scientists coordinating the Rosetta mission at the European Space Astronomy Centre in Madrid, a mission that has been very successful. It will give people great support and hope that such a project can be brought about in this era. He graduated from NUI, Maynooth, with an honours degree in physics and mathematics and went on to UCC where he obtained a master's degree in micro-electronics.

The asteroid "9524 O'Rourke" was named in his honour. He stated in Astronomy Ireland that this mission was to unlock an icy treasure chest. It is a great achievement, but it is more than that.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

This is something historic which has been ten years in the making, as the probe has made a 4 billion mile journey through the solar system. It is a great success story and nice that an Irish scientist is involved. That is why I would like to recognise him in the Seanad and us to send our best wishes to him in Madrid and wish him well on this great achievement for Ireland and the world.