Two thirds of Republic’s vets graduating abroad
More than two-thirds of newly registered vets in the Republic in 2022 qualified outside of Ireland, as demand “outstripped supply”, an Oireachtas committee has heard.
Just 80 vets who registered with the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) last year received their qualification from University College Dublin (UCD), while the remaining 222 graduated from accredited schools abroad.
Currently, UCD is the only third-level institution to offer veterinary training, with demand far outstripping places every year.
The University of Limerick is tipped to be the base for a new veterinary school, while UCD has also made a submission for expansion of its course.
It is understood that UCC, MTU, and the Atlantic Technological University in the north-west are also being considered.
Of the 222 vets that graduated abroad, the most popular was Budapest University of Veterinary Science, which accounted for 35 newly registered vets last year, and Warsaw University of Life Sciences which accounted for 14 registered vets.
The news comes with plans for the first veterinary school in Northern Ireland still in limbo.
In March 2021 was announced that the case for building a first veterinary school in NI was being looked at, yet the results of that study have yet to be made public.
It is understood the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is still is in discussions with Queen’s University and Ulster University over the proposed school.
