Harris ‘very open’ to reducing the number of international vet students

Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said he is “very open” to reducing the number of places for international students to study veterinary medicine in Ireland.

The Minister said such a measure could help alleviate the pressures on Irish students seeking veterinary medicine education here in the short term.

“That could be a measure that in the short term, while we prepare a new school, could provide additional capacity,” he explained.

The Minister for Higher Education was speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at Fine Gael’s ‘Future of Farming’ event in Carlow on Thursday evening.

International students

At present, over half of the students entering UCD’s veterinary medicine undergraduate course each year are international students, leaving approximately 40 slots available for those finishing second level education in Ireland.

Minister Harris also highlighted that over the last five years, some two-thirds of the vets registering in Ireland were trained abroad, predominantly in eastern European countries.

He said Irish students should be able to study veterinary medicine on their “doorstep” and that they should not have to travel to train in the numbers they do.

Entrance exam

The minister said he would not be drawn on the idea of making a provision for veterinary medicine entrants to take an entrance exam before securing a place on the undergraduate programme in UCD.

Asked if such an entrance interview or exam would help secure more livestock vets, he said: “Truthfully, I don’t have a view on that because I’d be guided by veterinary experts in relation to that because I’m conscious that when it comes to veterinary medicine, the Veterinary Council [of Ireland] is the regulatory manager.”

However, Minister Harris noted that he would be “very open” to having discussion on the potential of veterinary entrance exams or interviews with the council.