Mr. Brian McHugh:

In our 2008 report, we made a recommendation on how to track the number of vets, given that there was an issue of vets needing to go abroad to be trained. That is still an issue. That is one example of a recommendation. The issue is still a live one in terms of how many courses are available in Ireland for vets. The number of points that are needed to do a veterinary course in Ireland is very high and there are still questions about the supply of veterinary courses. These are issues that the CCPC and previous bodies have raised previously and remain something that needs to be considered carefully by the Government. Addressing this would have benefits for the farming community in terms of users of veterinary practices, but it is not just about the farming community. There are many users of veterinary practices and many consumers are impacted.

Over the past ten or 15 years, our understanding is that the number of vets has been increasing, which is welcome. This increase has coincided with an increase in the number of corporates in the sector. From that point of view, the increase in the number of corporates has not damaged the supply of vets. The increased supply of vets is welcome, but that is not to say that more work could not be done in the area.