The government has given the “green light” for the University of Limerick (UL) to proceed to the next stage for the establishment of a new vet school, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Kieran O’Donnell has said.
UL’s application with a proposal for 90 undergraduate student places per year over a five-year programme has been “deemed viable” by the government, Minister O’Donnell said.
The project will now proceed to the next phase, which is the formulation of a full business case which will then be assessed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, he added.
UL was chosen by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to have a “viable proposal” to deliver veterinary education and to establish a new veterinary college, the minister said.
Vet school
Thanking the government and in particular Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris for progressing the new vet school for UL to the next “key stage” today (Wednesday, June 21), he said:
“This is major progress. Only one university, [University College Dublin (UCD)] has provided veterinary education in Ireland before. Today, we take a step forward in bringing a new veterinary college to our region.”
The minister said the decision will address the “significant shortage” of vets in practice, particularly in rural areas as well as the demand from Irish students to study veterinary in Ireland.
In 2022 there were 581 first-preference applications for studying veterinary in UCD which has only 92 places available, according to the minister.
“A total of 260 Irish students are currently studying veterinary in Warsaw, however there are also students in Budapest and Slovakia,” he added.
The minister has been working with a group of veterinary practitioners and UL to promote the establishment of a new vet school at UL due to the significant shortage of vets in practice, particularly in rural areas.
Minister O’Donnell acknowledged the “incredible hard work and commitment” of the Working Group for Reform in Irish Veterinary Education led by Dr. Jimmy Quinn and Dr. Ian Fleming.