Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the original reply explained, this was put together by a group which looked at international best practice and decided that the new programme structure should be different. It has set out dispersed shadow placement in year two and a practice-based approach in years three, four and five, rather than a focus on the final year. These are designed to be workplace-based learning experiences overseen by education providers through the mechanism of shared service facilities, the affiliation of pharmacy practice and experiential learning. This is based on an assessment of what is best practice in training and developing qualified pharmacists by those who are best placed to deal with the issue.

When the Deputy raised the question, I was surprised that, because of the limit of four years for free fees for the undergraduate piece, this five-year programme automatically resulted in a masters year. However, it was not put together as an income earning mechanism but was put together in good faith by those who were regulating the sector. I will ask my officials to look at the model whereby this particular type of qualification requires someone in their final year to pay fees. It would obviously raise wider issues in terms of student support and so on. I will ask my officials to examine it in view of the concern the Deputy has raised.

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