Two local authorities, Carlow County Council and Waterford City and County Council, have each passed a motion calling on the government to give the rights of hosting a new veterinary school to South East Technological University (SETU).
The two motions have been welcomed by independent Waterford TD Matt Shanahan.
The two councils are calling on Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Patrick O’Donovan to make the final determination in SETU’s favour by October 1, so that arrangements can be made to commence student registration by September 2025.
Shanahan said: “This is a powerful show of regional unity and support for SETU, in partnership with Kildalton Agricultural College.
“The partners have put forward a very strong case to become Ireland’s newest veterinary college.
“There is no doubt that, with investment, this will be an even more formidable partnership, with the potential for SETU to become a national leader in a number of academic fields,” he added.
According to Shanahan, the south east region is suffering from “brain drain”, with many students pursuing their third-level education outside the region.
“For decades, the southeast has suffered a student brain drain, with over two-thirds of school leavers forced to pursue their preferred courses in other regions,” he said.
“This has had obvious consequences for regional development and family income displacement, which the government has repeatedly stated it wants to address. It’s time for the south east to see the fruits of those intentions,” he added.
“I also understand meeting requests are being tabled by south east Oireachtas members to both Minister O’ Donovan and Taoiseach Simon Harris… This is to understand what is in both of their minds in terms of delivering on the nascent promises to-date to equip SETU to arrest the southeast brain drain.”
Shanahan said he was looking forward to the outcomes of these meetings, and he wants to see them happen soon after the Dáil returns.
“The economic levelling up of the south east through third-level educational investment is a no-brainer that can significantly return dividend to the state almost immediately, so having such a meeting prior to budget announcements would be most timely’,” Shanahan remarked.
UL withdraws veterinary school bid
The motions in favour of SETU’s vet school bid comes after the University of Limerick (UL) confirmed that it has officially withdrawn from the competition to host a new veterinary medicine school.
Shane Kilcommins, the acting president of UL, said in a statement: “In late 2023, UL established a Veterinary School Planning Committee, which examined a number of options, both on and off campus, for delivery of the new school.
“However, given the significant estimated capital cost of the proposal, the current pause on capital expenditure and the circumstances the university finds itself in, and having considered it at executive committee, I have written to HEA (Higher Education Authority) CEO, Alan Wall, to withdraw UL’s expression of interest as part of this process,” Kilcommins added.