Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising this important issue. All of us in the House agree that we need to train more vets. Government is looking at different options as to how to do that. One option is to expand the existing veterinary school and another is to establish a new veterinary school in another part of the country. Many people want to study veterinary medicine but we do not have enough places for them. I would like to create more. That is not just important to give people the opportunity to become vets but will also be beneficial for our farming and agriculture sector, horse breeding and animal welfare. The Minister, Deputy Harris, is currently examining this matter, including an expansion of the existing provision and a significant increase. Work is currently subject to a detailed examination by the Higher Education Authority, HEA.

With regard to veterinary provision, a panel is being established to assess the applications that have been received. These applications will be reviewed by a panel comprising the Veterinary Council of Ireland and the chief veterinary officer. We do not place a quota a number of places higher education institutions offer on veterinary medicine courses. The number of places provided each year is determined by the institutions themselves in line with their capacity, although they obviously must be funded to provide these places.

As part of this examination, the Higher Education Authority has expressed an interest in hearing from higher education institutions that are interested in providing more places in dentistry, pharmacy, medicine, nursing and veterinary medicine and that have the capability to expand existing courses or create new courses in the academic year 2024-2025 or 2025-2026. The second stage of this process has now commenced with the HEA's recent announcement of the appointment of an expert advisory panel to review the opportunities for new programmes. The panel consists of representatives from Departments, regulatory and professional bodies which have direct professional experience, academic expertise or both in the relevant disciplines or knowledge of the higher education system at senior level.

As regulator, the Veterinary Council of Ireland is the competent authority and has robust accreditation processes to ensure that all veterinary training in Ireland meets national and international standards. Any programmes deemed viable by the HEA will be subject to Veterinary Council of Ireland accreditation to validate and ensure high standards of veterinary medicine in Ireland. Such accreditation enables professional recognition in Ireland, which also affords access to registration in the UK, Europe and Australasia.

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