The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food will this week continue engagement on issues around recruitment and retention of veterinary nurses.

The committee will meet on Wednesday afternoon (July 15) with representatives from the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) and Veterinary Ireland.  

Representatives from the Irish Veterinary Nurses Association previously addressed members of the committee.

Veterinary nurses

Speaking ahead of this week's meeting, committee cathaoirleach Deputy Aindrias Moynihan said: "We resume our focus on the issues around the recruitment and retention of veterinary nurses in Ireland.

"The VCI is an independent statutory body whose principal function is to regulate the practise of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing in Ireland, in the interest of animal health and welfare and public health.

"The role of Veterinary Ireland is to represent veterinary surgeons and to facilitate the veterinary profession in its commitment to improving the health and welfare of the animals under its care."

Shortages

Deputy Moynihan said that at the previous meeting, the committee learned of the "documented structural pressures, limited career progression, the pay, and demanding working conditions facing those who choose the career".

"We know that many practices struggle to attract new nurses and retain because salaries often do not reflect the level of training, responsibility, and emotional stress that comes with the profession," the deputy continued.

"Wednesday’s meeting will allow us to hear from the veterinary surgeon practices that are impacted by the shortages and the wider implications for farm animal health and rural veterinary services.

"We look forward to hearing how they would mitigate the issues being experienced." 

In June, there had been members of the committee understood to be unhappy at the lack of representatives from the VCI at its previous meeting on veterinary nurses.

The VCI had said that it did not decline to attend the meeting, and that its invitation to the meeting was withdrawn by the committee as "the matters being dealt with were considered to fall outside [the VCI's] statutory remit and regulatory function".