The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) has written to Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris asking him to prioritise developing a vet school for large farm-animal practice.
Minister Harris’ department is currently in the process of selecting a third level institution to host a new veterinary course.
Currently, University College Dublin (UCD) is the only university in the country offering such a course.
The INHFA, in its letter to both Minister Harris and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, asked that farm animal practice be the priority for the new course when it is ultimately launched.
Speaking this morning (Thursday, April 20), Vincent Roddy, the association’s president, said that the new vet school will need to produce vets “that are willing to calf cows and lamb sheep”, and that, if current trends continue, there will not be enough vets to do this type of work.
“[We] have written to both ministers detailing our concerns and outlining a strategy to address this issue,” he said.
In the letter, the INHFA highlighted the application process for the new school, arguing that the current model for application to the UCD course is not delivering enough farm vets that are willing to stay in the practice.
Roddy cited data which shows that, in 2021, 70% of vets that were put on the Irish vet register were educated outside Ireland, and 45% of those were non-Irish.
“While no farmers will have a problem with a non-Irish vet, the reality is that these vets are less likely to stay here, which is why we need to address the problem through an Irish veterinary school,” Roddy said.
“In our proposal to both ministers we have stated and recommended that the new school would have a minimum points requirement of 400. In addition to this, applications [should] be taken from each of our agricultural colleges for the top five students that are interested in veterinary practice,” Roddy said.
He added that such a model will “provide a viable route to becoming a vet….for those students that are interested in working with farm animals”.
The INHFA proposal would also require prospective students to provide a “portfolio” outlining their skills and ability.
A system of selecting students similar to the INHFA’s model is currently used by the Harper-Keele Veterinary School in England, which was set up in 2020.
“It is vital, especially for western seaboard counties, that we train vets that are willing to go out on a dark and wet night to calf down a cow or provide vital advice and support to our sheep farmers,” the INHFA president said.
He added: “These vets will most likely be found in secondary schools across our farming communities and this is why it is vital we provide them with a route into the veterinary practice.”