“A significant milestone”: SETU ‘proud’ to be chosen to deliver new vet medicine programme

SETU said it is “proud to be selected” as one of two universities to deliver new veterinary medicine programmes following an announcement by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Patrick O'Donovan TD, at the National Ploughing Championships today, Wednesday, September 18.

In a much-anticipated announcement, the Minister announced SETU's selection alongside Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD.

An Taoiseach, Simon Harris TD said: “The delivery of two new veterinary schools will help address the need for an increased supply of veterinary professionals in Ireland and will support the agricultural and agri-food sectors, while providing Irish students with more opportunities to pursue veterinary studies without having to seek their education abroad.”

“I also know how important this announcement is for farmers,” the Taoiseach said, highlighting the shortage of vets in rural parts of the country. He said he hoped that the location of the two new vet colleges being outside of Dublin would help alleviate this issue.

“This is something I really championed when I was Minister for Further and Higher Education, and I’m delighted that Minister O’Donovan and Minister McConalogue have today brought forward proposals to establish new veterinary colleges," he said.

The Higher Education Authority originally published a request for expressions of interest make the case to be chosen to host the new Veterinary School in April, 2023. Applications from SETU and ATU were deemed viable along with a later-withdrawn proposal from University of Limerick.

The SETU President, Professor Veronica Campbell said the university "is delighted to be chosen to deliver a new veterinary medicine programme” and recognises the Government announcement as a significant vote of confidence in the university’s vision for the future.

“Veterinary medicine is a highly sought-after programme of relevance to our region that will attract top talent from the south east and beyond," she said.

She added that the university’s model of clinical teaching will be “transformative for both the university and the region.” The university expects to have the veterinary medicine programme accredited and ready to be listed for an intake of 40 students through the CAO system in September.

Professor Campbell also congratulated Atlantic Technical University (ATU) on its selection as the other university chosen to deliver a new veterinary medicine programme, setting the stage for collaboration with the north-western university.

Waterford Chamber has also welcomed SETU’s selection with its CEO, Gerald Hurley, saying the selection will help to establish a “pipeline of highly skilled veterinary practitioners for the South East region”, which he said was essential given the importance of the agri-food industry in the county.

"Today is a day for celebration, particularly for SETU, who are working tirelessly to build a university of scale and international standing,” he said.

“We hope this positivity towards the university will continue with subsequent announcements for Schools of Pharmacy and Nursing, because without such equitable investment, this South East academic ‘flagship’ mandated by Government will not materialise, resulting in more and more of our young professionals looking elsewhere for their education and ultimately, careers," he added.

SETU is currently shortlisted as a potential new provider of pharmacy education with a Government decision expected shortly.