Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
519. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration will be given to offering veterinary positions/contracts to veterinarians who have qualified in other jurisdictions outside the EU, given the current reported shortage of veterinarians; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31324/23]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that all open competitions for recruitment to my Department, including those for veterinarians, already are open to citizens beyond the E.U. For instance, citizens of the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are eligible. In addition, a spouse or child of such citizens can be eligible as can persons awarded international protection under the International Protection Act 2015, or any family member entitled to remain in the State as a result of family reunification. Where qualification, has taken place in another jurisdiction, the Department can call on experts to objectively assess the standard of the qualification to ensure that the candidate meets the requirements of the post on offer.
All entry requirements are set out in each of our competition booklets and those relating to citizenship are identical to the conditions that apply to the open competitions run by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) on behalf of all public sector organisations.
