Harris: New vet school may not be in place by September 2024
University of Limerick, South East Technological University, and Atlantic Technological University have all had successful proposals to establish vet schools in their regions.
There is no guarantee a new veterinary school will be up and running for the start of the next academic year, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has said.
While he would “love to see this in place for September 2024, I won’t be found wanting in relation to that”, he told reporters at the National Ploughing Championships. “It will depend on which project or projects get selected and the lead-in time”.
“Some can be delivered quicker than others, but the next milestone is by the end of the year to know which projects are proceeding,” Mr Harris said.
Currently, there is only one vet school in Ireland, based at University College Dublin.
“We’re working to expand the number of veterinary places. I think it is utterly unacceptable that we live in a country where so many young people have to go abroad every year to study veterinary medicine,” Mr Harris said.
"At the same time, farmers tell me on a regular basis they have difficulty accessing vets, particularly vets for large animals.”
The Higher Education Authority was previously tasked by the Department of Further and Higher Education to establish how additional capacity might be provided in veterinary medicine.
Its report found, with investment, 230 vets could potentially be trained annually. At the moment, about 80 students are accepted on to the UCD course through the CAO each year.
University of Limerick, South East Technological University, and Atlantic Technological University have all had successful proposals to establish vet schools in their regions, Mr Harris said, along with expansion at UCD.
“I’ll be now working intensively with the Department of Agriculture and my own department and from a financial point of view to try and make decisions later this year,” he added.
“I think we have three very viable proposals. Those three projects now need to be assessed.
“It is my instinct that we need more than one to proceed, I personally think we should see at least two proceed.
Mr Harris has said reducing the intake of international students to the already existing veterinary medicine course to allow for more Irish students is “something we could do quite quickly, to increase the supply opportunities, the opportunities for Irish students, many of whom are finding themselves having to go to Eastern Europe”.
“We did it with medicine this year, and I’d like to have a conversation with UCD,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Harris said the State had historically “been too passive” when it came to student accommodation: “It has left it to universities of their volition, or the private market develop student accommodation.”
“We need to be much more interventionist in relation to this,” he said.
“That’s why I got approval in November for the first time ever for taxpayer’s money to be used to help part-fund student accommodation, and I’ve given now the technological universities €1m as a collective to develop their plans.”
He said he wanted to see these plans in 2024 for student accommodation “and Government will help part-fund”.
