Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the first instance, I congratulate Liath restaurant in Blackrock which was today awarded a second Michelin star. A very small number of restaurants in this country are operating at that level. In fact, there are only four, three of which are in Dublin. Liath is in the suburbs of Dublin, in Blackrock. On the face of it, it is a modest restaurant. It is certainly a small one, with approximately 20 covers. However, it operates at a level of excellence that is remarkable. As we see, Michael's restaurant is opening in Blackrock. I hope it will be at the core of a foodie destination in Blackrock, the likes of which we have in Monkstown and other places in the Dún Laoghaire area. I congratulate Damien Grey and his team on their excellence and hard work, which has borne fruit today with their second Michelin star.

I also wish to raise the identification by the Irish Pharmacy Union of an issue that is coming down the road. There are approximately 6,700 practising pharmacists in this country. We saw how valuable they were in delivering vaccinations during the Covid crisis, which they continue to do. We are very grateful to them. With population growth and the retirement of existing pharmacists, there will be an issue with the number of pharmacists we have in the coming years. We also have that issue with regard to doctors and nurses. It is important to identify the issue this a far way out because it takes approximately five years to train pharmacists and to get them into a shop and dispensing medicines. When we know at this remove that this problem is coming down the road, it is incumbent on the Government to take action. There are only three pharmacy schools in Ireland. These are in Trinity College Dublin, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, and University College Cork. It is high time that we considered establishing a fourth, perhaps in the National University of Ireland, Galway, Maynooth University or University College Dublin. It does not matter where it is. There were 165 trainee pharmacists last year. That only accounts for a 2.4% increase in the number of registered pharmacists. We know this issue is coming and we know we have to take action. Could we facilitate a debate with the Minister for Health to highlight to him the need to put in place another pharmacy school to ensure we have the appropriate number in time?