Vets warn of 'huge ageing issue' for industry

TALKS are ongoing with a view to opening a school of veterinary medicine at the University of Limerick (UL).

It comes after a delegation of animal care professionals held meetings with the college’s top brass.

Dr James Quinn and Dr Ian Fleming, who have decades of experience as vets, are part of the Veterinary Working Group for Reform in Irish Veterinary Education.

They met with Peter Hayes, a professor of rural general practice at UL’s medical school, as well as Mayor John Moran, in order to gain political support.

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The pair say 320 new vets are needed each year - at present just 80 are graduating annually from the only veterinary course in the country at University College Dublin.

“What brought us to this campaign is the realisation there are huge numbers of Irish students studying veterinary education mainly in eastern Europe - Poland for example. The country is only producing a quarter of the number of vets we need annually,” Mr Quinn said.

Mr Fleming warned of a “huge ageing issue”, especially in rural Ireland.

He said a quarter of vets in these settings are now agwed 60 years and over.

A number of colleges responded to a call by the Higher Education Authority seeking expressions of interest in building capacity across several areas – including veterinary medicine.

The two vets believe UL can lead the way.

“We badly need a new veterinary school and UL is ideally situated geographically as you’re in the rich Golden Vale so you have all that dairy going on. Dairy is the key industry of Ireland’s food business and it’s key to veterinary. So it’s important we have the correct location,” said Dr Fleming.

It’s foreseen that UL will be able to offer 90 places per year if it starts up a school of veterinary medicine.

Of these, 10 spots would be reserved for students from Northern Ireland, Dr Fleming said.

Dr Quinn added: “We are very aware there is a huge amount of support in the medical school for this. These are realists who know where this is going to. UL is a research-based university. This will open more channels for this. You’ve a cohort of industry in Limerick around this with the pharmaceutical and biosciences end of stuff. It will be really suitable for it.”
As we have seen in biopharmacy and finance, big name companies may be attracted to Limerick to take advantage of local graduates, the vets argue.

Dr Fleming said: “You could have an animal biotech hub in Limerick and the associated industries like you’ve seen with other sectors.”

Dr Quinn praised UL’s plans to “diversify” the entry pathways to veterinary courses, should a school open here.

He said often academic points do not always guarantee the best veterinary students, and there is quite a high professional departure rate of newly qualified vets.

Being a vet can be a very rewarding profession, said Dr Fleming.

“It’s not about the pocket. It’s a vocational business where the reward is in the work you do for both the client and the animal.

It is always challenging. Every day is a new day, and the reward is getting through that day. Empathy is a key issue. Without this, it’s hard to survive in this profession,” he said.

A UL spokesperson confirmed talks are ongoing, and because of this, they cannot comment further at this time.