Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
2089. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is concerned at the shortage of veterinarians and veterinary nurses in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40413/22]
View answerThe most recent figures from Veterinary Council of Ireland indicates that there is an all-time high number of 3,302 veterinarians and 1,198 veterinary nurses in Ireland. These figures signify an increase from VCI 2019 Statement of Strategy when there were 2,948 and 1,045 respectively.
In 2018, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) commissioned an evaluation of the availability of farmed animal veterinary services in Ireland which is available at gov.ie - An Evaluation of Farmed Animal Veterinary Services in Ireland Report (www.gov.ie)
Results of the 2018 evaluation and broader FVE studies shows that Ireland compares favourably to other European countries in terms of the number of veterinary practitioners per 1,000 inhabitants (e.g., 0.43 compared to 0.41 in the UK, 0.29 in the Netherlands and 0.29 in France).
Notwithstanding this overall finding, the study did signal that certain rural areas in Ireland face challenges, with relatively few veterinary practitioners operating in some peripheral areas. While the number of registered veterinary practitioners is at an all-time high, DAFM is also aware of reports of difficulties of recruiting veterinary assistants currently.
DAFM continues to keep the issue of the availability of farmed animal veterinary services under review.
