Veterinary Council welcomes 189 new vets and 82 new veterinary nurses for 2022
The Veterinary Council of Ireland has recorded the registration of 189 new vets and 82 new veterinary nurses to date in 2022.
The total number of vets and veterinary nurses on the Veterinary Council register currently stands at 3281 and 1189 respectively, which is an all-time high in terms of the number of veterinary professionals working in Ireland. These registrant numbers are welcomed in the context of increased demand for veterinary services and on-going recruitment challenges in these rapidly growing and developing professions.
Of the 189 newly registered vets, 54 were awarded their Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine Degree from UCD. The remaining vets graduated from a number of schools of Veterinary Medicine abroad, with the most popular being Budapest University of Veterinary Science (which accounted for 35 newly registered vets) and Warsaw University of Life Sciences (which accounted for 12 vets).
Of the newly registered veterinary nurses, 33 received their veterinary nursing qualification from UCD, 18 received their veterinary nursing qualification from Athlone Institute of Technology, 7 received their veterinary nursing qualification from Dundalk Institute of Technology, 17 received their qualification from St John’s Central Cork, with the remaining 14 receiving their qualifications from Letterkenny Institute of Technology.
Niamh Muldoon, CEO and Registrar of the Veterinary Council of Ireland, said “The Veterinary Council is proud to welcome all of the vets and vet nurses who joined our register in 2022. This influx of talent will help to meet the demand for veterinary services across Ireland, and also indicates the strength, growth and demand of the sector. The Council will continue to work with all of our registrants and our stakeholders in the interest of the public and animal health and welfare.”
Vets from throughout Europe are eligible to register with the Veterinary Council of Ireland through the Professional Qualifications Directive, which facilitates the free movement of veterinary practitioners within the EU through the mutual recognition of professional qualifications.