Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Given the level of investment required here, it is vital to get the education quality and the accreditation standards right from the beginning. I am not naming any one in particular, but the institute or the institutes, because there could be collaboration between North and South, tasked with delivering the course must have the capacity to deliver from the get-go. That is the bottom line. They must be able to attract and retain the best quality teaching staff and they must be able to cater for the veterinary needs of the whole island. They must achieve the VCI and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons accreditation standards, particularly as a policy change is expected next year by the RCVS to move away from the European standard there. Vet practices operate across the Border. We need to ensure that this continues. The new vet school needs to be capable of meeting those standards. Most important is the scale. We have such a severe shortage of vets here that the initial minimum intake of any course provider must be approximately 80 students with the capacity to expand to 120 in the short term. We should also be looking at developing the graduate entry routes to expand access. I am confident we can get this right if we do it in the way it needs to be done.

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