UL withdraws vet school bid over cost concerns, increasing Waterford's chances

University of Limerick (UL) has confirmed that they have withdrawn their bid for the new veterinary medicine school citing the “significant estimated capital cost” of the proposal, improving SETU's chances of getting the proposal.

A decision is expected to be made very soon. The UL acting President Professor Shane Kilcommins wrote to the Higher Education Authority to formally withdraw the university’s expression of interest in hosting the new Veterinary School.

UL had originally responded to a request for expressions of interest from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for universities to make the case to be chosen to host the new Veterinary School in April of 2023 and was one of three proposals to be deemed viable. 

The other two proposals were from South East Technical University (SETU) and Atlantic Technical University.

In a letter to staff explaining the decision to withdraw the bid, the UL acting President said “given the significant estimated capital cost of the proposal, the current pause on capital expenditure and the circumstances the University finds itself in, and having considered it at Executive Committee, I have written to HEA CEO Alan Wall to withdraw UL’s expression of interest as part of this process.”

“We recognise the pressing need for additional veterinary places, and we remain interested in responding to that in the medium term,” Professor Shane Kilcommins continued, before thanking the staff members who had planned and prepared the bid for their efforts and “commitment to the project”.

Professor Kilcommins pledged to “continue to focus on a strong recovery plan for the University in the light of the Section 64 review and will continue to deliver our range of existing academic programmes, including the possibility of extending our offerings in some critical demand areas.”

RTÉ recently revealed that University of Limerick is currently under a period of "extreme oversight" by the HEA as a result of a "shocking and alarming" overspend related to the purchase of 20 houses in 2022, which the university’s Chancellor recently announced.