Around 50% of newly graduated vets on the register in Ireland have studied overseas, the joint Oireachtas committee on agriculture heard on Wednesday.

In 2022, 72 first-time Irish registrants were educated in UCD and 66 first-time Irish registrants were educated outside of Ireland, Department of Higher Education assistant secretary general Keith Moynes told the committee.

This figure, Moynes said, was “half and half” in 2021.

“We know that there are a few hundred Irish students are going overseas to study. However it [the figures] would imply that people are coming back from oversees after studying,” he said.

However, Moynes said that fewer students who studied overseas came back to study in Ireland in 2020. COVID-19, he said, may have had an influence on this.

Students applying

Over the last few years, between 860 and 1,000 students applied through the CAO for veterinary for just the 82 spaces in UCD.

However, Moynes said that there is no data on whether these students go abroad to study veterinary, study something else or repeat the Leaving Certificate.

“Broadly speaking, you’d imagine a proportion of that cohort is going to study in central Europe, another proportion probably take their second or third choice or maybe people will take a year out,” he said.

Overall, veterinary, more than any other course, sees the most students going overseas to study.

Chair of the Oireachtas Committee Jackie Cahill said that a decision on the location of the new vet school should be made sooner rather than later.

“There are a lot of students who want to do veterinary medicine and who are going overseas to do it. UCD has its quota and it’s finding it very hard to meet the requirement of vets in the country,” he said.