Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a question that has arisen in regard to pharmacy students and it is also an issue of concern for the wider system. Degrees have been changed so that the student is not just doing a primary degree to qualify as a pharmacist but, effectively, has to do the final year as a master's degree. While it is laudable that people are as highly qualified as possible, what was previously done as part of a primary degree is now being done as part of a masters degree and there are fees associated with that. The worry is that this is a way of generating extra income for the universities because of the severe crisis in third level funding.

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