Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Connolly mentioned slippage, and it is something we must all guard against. I wish both the Minister and the Minister of State well in their briefs in the time ahead and I look forward to a constructive working relationship. I ask the Minister for an update on both the veterinary and the pharmacy courses at South East Technological University.

These are crucially important. They were announced last year to great fanfare and after much anticipation. Are we still on course for those courses to begin in September 2025? As other speakers have said about other parts of the country, the agricultural and equine sectors are very big in Waterford and the wider south-east region. We need that veterinary capacity in our new university. There is also a burgeoning pharmaceutical sector operating in Waterford city and county, including in my own town of Dungarvan, and in the wider region, including Kilkenny and Wexford. We need to know that this pharmacy course will be available in September 2025. I would be grateful for an acknowledgement or update from the Minister regarding both of those.

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