Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 80: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the provision of suitable training placements for students of pharmacy at third level which is necessary to complete the professional training pre-registration year; the reason this year is key for the course; the further reason there is a shortfall in the number of these placements available; her plans to liaise with all the universities concerned to solve this problem; and if she will make a statement on the measures that will be taken to increase the number of placements available. [24084/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Article 44 of Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications provides that a five year programme of education and training must be completed in order to qualify and practice as a pharmacist. The current situation in Ireland is that graduates of the four year pharmacy degree programmes are obliged under national and EU law to undertake and complete one year of practical training, of which a minimum of 6 months must be in the community or hospital sectors in order to comply with Ireland's obligations under the aforementioned Directive. This period of practical pre-registration training must be supervised by a practising tutor pharmacist. The one year's pre-registration training must be completed prior to being eligible to apply to sit the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI's) Licence examination held twice annually, in May and in November (i.e. the earliest that this year's pharmacy graduates may be eligible to sit the Examination will be November 2009).

Statutory responsibility for overseeing pharmacy education and training rests with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI). In late Autumn every year, the PSI writes to the total number of qualified tutor pharmacists held on its database (currently in excess of 1,000) to identify those who are in a position to provide a training placement for pharmacy graduates within their pharmacy for the following training year (i.e. the training year due to commence the following Autumn). In recent years there have been around 200 placements available annually, mostly in the community sector, but with upward of 30 in the hospital sector. The allocation of posts, and their funding, in the public hospital sector is a function of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The details of the these placements are circulated to the fourth year pharmacy students by the PSI at the end of November via the schools of pharmacy.

The number of available training placements notified to the PSI in Autumn 2006 for the 2007-08 training year was 202. All 144 pharmacy graduates qualified to take up placements, found training places in 2007-08.

In response to the PSI's call for tutors for 2008/09, a total of 209 positive replies were notified to the PSI and circulated to the fourth year pharmacy students in late November 2007. Notwithstanding the above, certain difficulties were being experienced by pharmacy graduates this year in securing pre-registration training placements in the community pharmacy sector, primarily due to the withdrawal of such places by a number of tutors/pharmacies. However, I understand that the position has improved and the PSI continues to monitor the situation in consultation with the third level schools of pharmacy. A very small number of the placements in the hospital sector are also at issue, which my Department has raised with the HSE.