Number of Irish vets qualifying abroad quadruples

The number of newly registered Irish vets that have qualifications from colleges outside Ireland has almost quadrupled in eight years, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.

Figures obtained from the Veterinary Council of Ireland show that 42 Irish nationals with qualifications from abroad registered to practice veterinary medicine in Ireland in 2017, compared to 11 in 2010.

With competitive entry requirements into the veterinary medicine course at UCD, and expensive living costs in Dublin, more Irish veterinary students are looking at courses offered abroad.

The most popular foreign college with Irish vet students is the University of Veterinary Budapest in Hungary. The college’s representative in Ireland, Dr Tim O’Leary, said around 40 Irish students enter the veterinary medicine course in Budapest each year and around one-third of the first students are Irish.

“The Budapest school is looking for people that are good at science, so they set their own entrance exams in chemistry and biology. They don’t base it on a CAO, but they do appreciate a good Leaving Cert,” O’Leary said.

The five-year degree is delivered in the English language and has been running for 30 years. “Fees are just short of €11,000/year. But students say that the cheaper living costs mean the overall cost of studying in Budapest is similar to Dublin,” he maintained.

Graduates have EAEVE accreditation which allows them to practice anywhere in Europe, but O’Leary said the majority of Irish vets graduating in Budapest return to Ireland to work.

Read more

Debate surrounds solutions to vet shortage

Foreign vets help fill shortages in practices

New farm vets hard to recruit