Ms Niamh Muldoon:

I cannot give the Deputy an exact figure. We know there is demand all across the sector from companion to large animal, and there is some migration within our registers. We have never had more vets on our registers, yet we hear anecdotally that there are increasing challenges around recruitment and retention for rural large animal practice. While I cannot give the Deputy a set number, suffice it to say we know that huge numbers of Irish leaving certificate students travel across the water to undertake veterinary medicine studies. Traditionally, there has always been an association with some of the programmes in Scotland. For example, we always have a number of graduates from the University of Edinburgh coming onto our register every year. We know there is huge demand for Irish young people coming through the CAO system going abroad. While I cannot give the Deputy a set figure, suffice to say that there is a welcome opportunity for additional capacity in veterinary medicine training. It strikes me that there is strong demand in the industry and the sector. Certainly, there is employment for an increased number of vets than there are currently on our register.