Government set to announce SETU pharmacy course

The government is set to announce the news that South East Technological University (SETU) will be one of three universities to receive a new pharmacy course.

Each of the three universities which submitted business cases has been awarded a new programme.

In addition to SETU, Atlantic Technological University and University of Galway will also introduce new pharmacy programmes, doubling the number of such courses in the country. 

At full roll-out this will provide more than 150 additional pharmacy graduates per year.

Funding for the course will come from the National Training Fund. In total €130 million will be spent introducing new courses in healthcare disciplines, which are facing critical workforce shortages. 

"I’d like to acknowledge the role played by the entire council bodies in the South East who have worked together to bring council motions supporting the development of SETU Veterinary and Pharmacy schools," said Independent Waterford TD Matt Shanahan. "This cohesive political action is part of the successful outcomes we are now seeing regarding our developing South East third level opportunity."

Fine Gael Senator John Cummins said “I have been consistent in saying that the case made by the wonderful academic team at SETU was exceptionally strong. It was for this reason the Higher Education Authority last year assessed the SETU bid for Pharmacy as viable."

“While some politicians sought to say this process would be interfered with politically and SETU would lose out as a result, I never bought into that negative narrative. This process was independently assessed by the HEA and I want to compliment Peter McLoughlin, Claire Lennon and all the team at SETU who put trojan work into developing this programme. What has been very clear to me from the start of this process was the buy-in from everyone to ensure this favourable outcome we have achieved today”.

Senator Cummins said “The question I have for those who didn’t support the establishment of SETU is, do they honestly believe that we would have been successful in both of these bids for Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine as an Institute of Technology?"

The news of the new course has come after Wexford County Council passed a motion calling on the government to make a decision as to which university will be chosen to deliver a new pharmacy course, echoing similar calls from county councils across the South East.

The motion called on Minister for Further and Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Patrick O’Donovan, to make a "final determination on the new Pharmacy programme for South East Technological University before November 1, so that the new university course programme may be available to CAO applicants next year."

The government recently announced that SETU will be one of two universities to host new Veterinary Medicine degree courses, alongside Atlantic Technical University, in a move which SETU President Professor Veronica Campbell labelled as “a significant milestone”.