The minimum Leaving Certificate points required for a first round offer of a place in the Agricultural Science degree course at University College Dublin (UCD) this year is up by 10 points to 465.

At the height of Ireland’s boom, there was little demand for agricultural courses, with the points for the same degree at just 315 in 2007.

The minimum points required for Dairy Business is at 445. Food Science in UCD requires at least 490 points in order to gain a first round offer. Animal Science (Equine) requires 425 points this year for a first round offer.

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Veterinary Medicine at UCD continues to be one of the hardest courses to access, requiring at least 580 points in order to be offered one of the 85 places on the course.

The points required for Agricultural Science at Waterford Institute of Technology is 430.

Food Science at University College Cork requires a minimum of 445 points.

Information released by the Central Applications Office (CAO) earlier this year showed that over 2,800 people applied for places on agricultural courses this year - a 6% increase on 2013.

Of these applicants, over 700 made a Level 8 agricultural course their first choice preference - an increase of 12% on the 2013 figure.

Over 800 people also made agriculture their first preference when applying for Level 6 and 7 courses.

This means over a total 1,553 applications were made with an agricultural course as the first preference. In 2007 this figure was just 604 - an increase of 250% in just seven years.