Kilkenny TD welcomes Phelan new Pharmacy places at SETU

A nation-wide increase in healthcare places, which includes additional capacity on Pharmacy programmes at the South East Technological University (SETU) has been welcomed by local Fine Gael TD, John Paul Phelan.

The announcement was made by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Innovation, Research and Science Patrick O’Donovan as part of a major increase in healthcare places in Ireland through the creation of six new programmes.

“Funding of €130 million unlocked from the National Training Fund will support the growth of key healthcare disciplines, addressing critical workforce shortages and enhancing healthcare education across the country.

“As part of this initiative, following recommendations from the Higher Education Authority (HEA), several universities will establish new programmes in areas of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry.

“The programmes for advancement, and their locations include the South East Technological University and other universities which will introduce new pharmacy programmes, doubling the number of pharmacy training programmes in Ireland. At full roll-out this will provide more than 150 additional pharmacy graduates per year.

“This announcement, as well as the recent confirmation that a new Veterinary programme will also be offered in the region is a huge vote of confidence in the South East and a further indication of how this government has invested in this region.

“Announcement like this mean that students can stay in the region to study. We’ve lost far too many graduates to colleges in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway in the past, never to return. This augurs well for families, for students, for the local and regional economy and for the pool of graduates across lots of disciplines who will now have a greater chance of staying in the South East.”

Last year alone saw 460 new places in healthcare disciplines, and the government is committed to building on this progress, Deputy Phelan concluded.