Waterford Chamber welcomed Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Minister Roderic O’Gorman TD, to their offices, where he met with Waterford Chamber President Niall Harrington and CEO Gerald Hurley. The Minister was accompanied by Green Party colleague Marc O’Cathasaigh TD.
During the meeting, a number of key local and strategic issues discussed, including equitable funding for SETU, funding for and the importance of Waterford Airport; Waterford Port and the opportunity for Offshore Wind; 24/7 cardiac care at UHW and housing and the need to create a vibrant city centre.
Also discussed was the proposed veterinary medicine, nursing and pharmacy programs at SETU, which came on the back of all the Chambers of Commerce in the South East calling on Government to approve the development of the proposed programmes in veterinary medicine, nursing and pharmacy at the South East Technological University (SETU).
According to Gerald Hurley, CEO of Waterford Chamber: “Be in no doubt that there is broad political support for this, both across parties and counties. Every TD, including Marc O'Cathasaigh who attended the meeting, along with Senators, Council members, and stakeholders from the South East, strongly back the initiative, and we made this clear to Minister O'Gorman."
According to the submission made by the regional Chambers: “Government has made extensive commitments in terms of developing not only SETU, but the Region, and it is imperative that Government awards the above mentioned schools to SETU based on merit alone. We understand that other Government officials involved in this process will have their own allegiance to their constituencies, but we very much hope these will be awarded on regional suitability and capability and not on political allegiances.
“For decades the South East region has experienced a crippling brain drain. This is the opportunity to address that. Establishing a pipeline of highly skilled veterinary practitioners, nurses and pharmacists for the South East region is essential, because without such equitable investment, this South East academic ‘flagship’ mandated by Government will not materialise, resulting in more and more of our young professionals looking elsewhere for their education.
“Without doubt, SETU must be the obvious location for a Veterinary School, given the dominance of the Agri Food Industry in the South East, 20% of the State’s agricultural output, 12,000 farms (beef, dairy, sheep and bloodstock), 16% sectorial employment and the current alignment with Kildalton College, Pilltown, Co. Kilkenny. Kildalton College boasts the largest Teagasc college nationally where courses in agriculture, horticulture and equine studies are supported and where SETU supports course provision to levels 7 and 8. In fact, so committed and ambitious are SETU to this school, they recently recruited a lead on Veterinary Medicine from Cambridge University to deliver on the university’s potential to initially educate over 40 veterinarians per year with a promise of access for practical training in the meat and processing facilities across the region.
The submission went on to state: “In terms of pharmacy and nursing, the South East boasts a vibrant and successful pharma and medical sector. With a catchment of over 634,000 people within an hour's drive of Waterford City, this makes the South East the largest region outside of Dublin. The current and future multinationals and medical facilities are in urgent need of a highly skilled workforce, particularly as the South East is the fastest growing region in Ireland. A School of Pharmacy and a School of Nursing would be well placed to fulfil the needs and ambitions of these sectors, in line with the plans outlined in the National Planning Framework.
“Additionally, in terms of pharmacy, viable options were assessed at University of Galway, South East Technological University and Atlantic Technological University; while University of Limerick, South East Technological University and Atlantic Technological University were assessed as viable options for Veterinary Medicine. We are confident that the robust submissions presented by SETU is testament to our shared ambition in the South East to make SETU a University of substance offering relevant and world class education to and for the citizens of the region and beyond.
“These schools will ensure SETU is attracting high-calibre students from the South East and beyond, supporting regional development and building a vibrant innovation ecosystem that promotes high-quality job creation and long-term employment opportunities.”
“We hope a positive decision will be made in the short term, as we are at a pivotal time in the equitable development of South East higher education,” concluded Mr Hurley.
