University of Limerick vies for new veterinary college

THE UNIVERSITY of Limerick (UL) is considered to be a prime location for the installation of a new veterinary college due to the university's impressive track record with setting up new faculties.

Government representatives have been calling for a veterinary college to be installed in Limerick due to a shortage of vets throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.

UCD has the sole veterinary college in Ireland and had over 580 CAO first preferences this year with only 92 spaces available for students.

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There are currently 260 Irish students studying veterinary in Warsaw, Poland with a large number also studying in Budapest and Slovakia.

Limerick City and Fine Gael TD, Kieran O’Donnell commented: “Over the past number of months, I have been working with this group of veterinary practitioners to promote the establishment of a new veterinary college in Ireland.”

Key steps have been made to move the motion forward as the Higher Education Authority (HEA) has sought Expressions of Interest (EOI) from education institutions interested in building more capacity in high demand sectors including veterinary.