Minister for Disability and Fianna Fáil TD for Galway East, Anne Rabbitte, has welcomed Cabinet approval of Mountbellew Agriculture College being assigned a new veterinary school.
The government confirmed three new locations for veterinary schools around the country, including Mountbellew, Letterkenny, and Kilkenny.
Up until today, there has only been one vet school in the country based out of University College Dublin in Dublin.
MEP Barry Cowan visit to Mountbellew Agriculture College
Welcoming today’s news, Minister Rabbitte said:
Today’s confirmation that a new vet school will open at Mountbellew Agriculture College is a win for Mountbellew but also for Galway and the wider region.
I have long been advocating for Mountbellew to be included as one of the new vet schools, and indeed brought the Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, to Mountbellew earlier this year to highlight how the College was ready to take on the challenge.
and she continued:
I want to congratulate both Dr. Edna Curley, Principal of Mountbellew Ag College, and Dr Orla Flynn, President of Atlantic Technological University (ATU), for the effort, energy and planning they put into securing the vet school in Mountbellew.
This will be a game changer for the college and the region, with 40 places coming on stream shared between Mountbellew and the ATU campus in Letterkenny, as well as 40 based out of South East Technological University campus in Kilkenny. Hopefully these will begin from next September.
and she continued:
Farming is so integral to Galway and the infrastructure needs to be developed to support farmers and this includes access to vets.
Currently, all our vets are being trained in UCD, which is a fine setup, but the simple fact of the matter is that we need more vets around the country, and I think it’s important we’re producing these vets locally
and she continued:
From engaging with the team in Mountbellew and in the ATU, I know they’re keen to get the course up and running as quickly as possible. There is such untapped potential here in Mountbellew so I’m delighted to see this finally over the line,” concluded Minister Rabbitte.
I am delighted to announce that Minister McConalogue has made the unprecedented move of joint funding two new vet schools.
This is an exciting step forward for animal health and welfare, rural development, and Irish agriculture.
This announcement is a very important initiative to help respond to an established need for veterinary practitioners.
FURTHER READING
• These new veterinary colleges will increase the availability of skilled veterinary practitioners, which are needed to support our rural communities and address the evolving challenges facing the agri-food sector, from animal health to food safety and security, and climate change.
• These veterinary colleges will require capital expenditure to get them up and running, and €50 million in capital expenditure allocation will be made jointly by Minister McConalogue and the Department for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
• This investment is not just a response to the growing demand for vets, but a recognition of the critical role that veterinary practitioners play in the health of our animals, the sustainability of our agrifood sector, and the well-being of society as a whole.
• Veterinary practitioners play a unique and important role in Irish society, and the Department of Agriculture has identified specific on-going challenges with availability and retention in the overall system.
• Vets are not only guardians of animal health and welfare; they are also protectors of public health. They service the needs of our livestock and bloodstock industries, they provide care for our pets; they collaborate with farmers and agribusinesses to implement best practices in food production. They provide assurance regarding food safety; they are actively involved in the control of zoonotic diseases transmitted between animals and humans which have knock on effects on public health; they provide leadership in the area of animal welfare.
• They provide veterinary certification, which supports the international trade of animals and products of animal origin. This trade was worth approximately €18.3Bn last year to the Irish economy.
• Over recent times, there have been growing concerns about our ability as a nation to provide sufficient veterinary practitioners to respond to the increasing needs of our growing population, especially in the context of the expanding companion animal area, the continued need to service our farmed animal sector, the increasing importance of animal welfare, and the challenges of One Health.
• Minister McConalogue’s Department conducted an Evaluation of the availability of Veterinary Practitioners in Ireland – from a demand perspective. This report identified and evaluated the challenges and concluded that an increase in veterinary student capacity in Ireland is warranted.
• It has also been well publicised that, notwithstanding the numbers of approximately 3,500 registered veterinary practitioners on the veterinary register, a number higher than ever before, there remain considerable issues in the recruitment and retention of veterinary practitioners across the veterinary sector.
• The issue of staff recruitment and retention is particularly acute in farm animal practices, many of which are in rural areas and is exacerbated by the increasing age profile of those vets currently working in those practices.
• This need for vets is ongoing and active. Recent research conducted by my department showed that there are currently over 60 (out of an estimated 750) Irish practices actively seeking veterinary practitioners, in both national and international veterinary press.
• Since the 1970s, UCD has been the only provider of a Veterinary Medicine programme in Ireland. There are approximately 90 places provided on UCD’s direct entry programme each year and more than 90% of these places are taken up by Irish/EU students.
• The issues of addressing the rising challenge of providing sufficient numbers of veterinary graduates to meeting our national needs is not unique to Ireland. These issues are seen around Europe and across the world.
• In addition, the high calibre of Irish veterinary graduate has made them highly sought around the world particularly in English speaking countries that are experiencing similar difficulties, exacerbating the shortage in domestic demand.
• In recent years a considerable number of Irish students have begun to travel abroad to realise their aspirations of training as veterinarians.
• There are no official statistics available on how many Irish students’ study outside the State in different disciplines, but DAFM is aware that a significant number of Irish students travel outside the State every year to study veterinary medicine in institutions in the UK and Central and Eastern Europe.
• Data from the Veterinary Council of Ireland shows that since 2017, almost two-thirds of new entrants to the register in the past 7 years are educated outside of Ireland.
• These two new veterinary schools represent an investment not only in education but in animal health and welfare, food production and the future of Irish agriculture.
• As we all know, the challenges facing agriculture are evolving. From tackling climate change to preventing outbreaks of animal diseases, and from ensuring sustainable food systems to maintaining the highest welfare standards, veterinary practitioners are essential partners in shaping the future of our agrifood sector. By supporting the education of future veterinary practitioners, we are ensuring that Ireland remains resilient in the face of these challenges, with the expertise required to protect our animals, our environment, and our rural communities.
• Today’s announcement of funding for two new veterinary schools is a commitment from fianna fail to our farmers, to our agrifood industry, and to every person in this country who values the health of our animals and the quality of the food on our tables. It’s a commitment to ensure the future of Irish agriculture remains strong and vibrant.
BACKGROUND
• The number of veterinary practitioners on the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) register is in the region of 3,500 at the end of 2023.
• Since 2017, the annual percentage of veterinary practitioners educated outside of Ireland newly entering onto the VCI register has averaged 65%.
• Currently approximately one-third of all vets on the veterinary register in Ireland are trained abroad.
• The selection of the location of these new schools is on the basis of the recommendation of the Higher Education Agency (HEA). The HEA sought expressions of interest and, having subsequently evaluated the proposals submitted made this recommendation.
