A group of Irish technology leaders and astronomers has called on the Government to sign Ireland up to an international astronomy project.

The group says membership of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) would open up Irish science, astronomy and astrophysics to a wealth of valuable research data.

It would also generate opportunities for software firms in Ireland to compete for lucrative ESO contracts.

The Government's national science strategy makes a commitment to explore membership options.

It is estimated that joining ESO would cost Ireland around €14 million in upfront fees, plus an annual membership fee of €2 million.

Minister of State with Responsibility for Research John Halligan recently told RTÉ News he was personally in favour of Ireland joining the ESO, but said the challenge was finding the funding to do so.

However, supporters say the potential benefits to the software industry, research and education would far outweigh the financial cost.

The call for membership echoes a statement from the Institute of Physics (IOP), which claimed joining ESO now makes economic sense as the cost is calculated on GDP which is rising.

The IOP report also claimed that every euro invested in the space industry usually yields a €6-7 return.

Joining now would also enable Irish contractors to bid for contracts for the under-construction European Extremely Large Telescope.

ESO is Europe's leading international astronomy organisation and carries out cutting edge research at its facilities in Europe and Chile.

The call is also backed by Technology Ireland, Fianna Fáil and ESO Nobel Laureate Professor Brian Schmidt.

It comes as the Irish astronomy community holds the Irish National Astronomy Meeting in Maynooth.