Sir, – The announcement by the Taoiseach of impending Cabinet approval for two new vet schools is not good news for students, the veterinary profession or its clients and animals.
The prospect of two, small scale, low-ranking schools with the duplication of staff, facilities and curricula involved represents a major overspend of scarce resources.
The vet graduate supply problem first identified and quantified by our group in 2022 requires a single, world ranked, large intake site, such as the University of Limerick (UL) to deliver a meaningful solution.
Our working group is disappointed by the withdrawal of UL from the process to found the first new vet school in the the State and the lost opportunity this represents for Limerick and the midwest region.
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While recognising the serious governance issues relating to lack of oversight in the spending of public monies on property purchases in the Limerick area, UL’s academic record and research programmes are not in question. Conflating such governance issues with the university’s ability to create a world class vet medicine school has serious consequences for the integrity of Irish third-level education.
We believe that following the withdrawal of UL from the process, the HEA programme to provide additional vet educational places should be paused.
Independent international vet education experts must be sourced and even at this late stage, can advise the Government on best practice and how to avoid the issues that will inevitably follow the selection of unsustainable sites.
The veterinary working group believe that locating any new vet schools at unranked sites will expose the public purse to substantial risk. – Yours, etc,
IAN FLEMING, MRCVS;
FERGAL HENNESSY, MRCVS;
JAMES QUINN, MRCVS;
JAMES MURPHY
On behalf of the Veterinary Working Group for Reform in Irish Veterinary Education,
Kilshanny,
Co Clare.