New courses planned to meet demand for vets, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and doctors

The Irish Dental Association estimates 'we need 500 graduate dentists per annum to meet the needs of rising population and to replace retiring dentists'.

Colleges are hoping to set up new courses or expand as soon as possible in response to staff shortages of vets, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and doctors.

Twenty colleges have proposed to deliver new courses by as soon as 2024, and 19 are seeking to expand their offerings in response to a call from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to build capacity in dentistry, nursing, medicine, pharmacy and veterinary.

The HEA initiated the call in an attempt to swiftly build national skills in these essential disciplinary areas, which are currently experiencing shortfalls in the numbers being trained. 

According to the HEA, expressions of interest in developing new courses in pharmacy and veterinary have been received from institutions in all four provinces.

As previously reported by the Irish Examiner, Ireland currently has a shortfall in the number of vets it trains. It has prompted calls for new veterinary schools to help tackle a recruitment and retention crisis in the profession.

Ireland currently has just one vet school, at University College Dublin (UCD), offering roughly 80 places annually to students through the CAO. As a result, every year, hundreds of students hoping to become vets must study abroad, with the majority heading to Eastern Europe. 

Fermoy vet Ian Fleming told the Irish Examiner Ireland ideally should have three vet schools, with one to be located in Munster. 

This year, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) also warned patient and doctor health is now in danger because of the gap between the number of doctors needed and the numbers available.

Fermoy vet Ian Fleming told the Irish Examiner Ireland ideally should have three vet schools, with one to be located in Munster. Picture: Denis Minihane

In September, Robert Watt, secretary-general of the Department of Health, told the Oireachtas health committee a “step-change” was needed to double the number of medical and nursing graduates.

Potential solutions for addressing the shortfall could be done through a radical expansion of existing medical schools, an overhaul of the existing regime for training, or new schools, he said.

While 4,000 were expected to be recruited to the health service this year, Mr Watt told the committee he accepted it was not enough. “We need to double the number of undergraduates each year, in terms of medicine, coming into the system.”

Also earlier this year, the Irish Dental Association (IDA) warned "only a fraction" of the 200 dentists who register each year come from the country's two dental schools. 

"We estimate we need at least 500 graduate dentists per annum to meet the needs of rising population and to replace retiring dentists," said Dr Caroline Robins, president of the IDA. 

"The two dental schools, in UCC and TCD, do not produce an adequate number of dentists to meet patient demands."

HEA chief executive Dr Alan Wall said it welcomed the response to its call for expressions from the colleges. 

“It is vital that the higher education sector responds effectively to evolving national priorities and skills needs, and the range and high standard of expressions of interest submitted reflects the commitment of institutions to meeting societal needs."  

The health of the system is evident in the strength and variety of submissions received, he added. 

The HEA is currently reviewing applications with a view to moving to the second stage of the assessment process, which will involve review by an expert panel. It will be in contact with the colleges shortly.