More than 300 new vets in Ireland

From four legged pals to working animals, Cork has 20 newly registered vets to care for them, it was announced this week.

The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI), the statutory body responsible for the regulation and management of the practise of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing in the state, welcomed 302 new vets and 139 new veterinary nurses to its register in 2022.

The VCI believes the addition of these professionals and their talent will benefit animal health and welfare in Ireland.

The total number of vets and veterinary nurses on the Veterinary Council register currently stands at 3,399 and 1,245 respectively, which is an all time high in terms of the number of veterinary professionals working in Ireland.

VCI said these registrant numbers are welcomed in the context of increasing demand for veterinary services and ongoing recruitment challenges in these rapidly growing and developing professions.

Niamh Muldoon, CEO and Registrar of the Veterinary Council of Ireland, said: “The Veterinary Council believes that the welcome addition of these talented professionals to our register in 2022 will go some way to meeting the growing demand for veterinary services across Ireland.

“We are pleased to welcome all of the vets and vet nurses who joined our register over the last 12 months, and we believe this growth indicates the robust strength of the sector. The Council looks forward to what 2023 will bring, and we will continue to work with all of our registrants and our stakeholders in the interest of the public and animal health and welfare.”

The top 10 counties which accounted for newly registered vets in 2022 were:

• Dublin – 32

• Cork – 20

• Galway – 20

• Tipperary – 13

• Meath – 13

• Kildare – 13

• Wexford – 12

• Wicklow – 8

• Kerry – 8

• Limerick – 7

Of the 302 newly registered vets, 80 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 14 vets).