Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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96. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has engaged with the veterinary industry regarding the considerable shortage of qualified vets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53080/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The most recent figures from Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) indicates that there is an all-time high number of 3,302 veterinarians and 1,198 veterinary nurses currently registered in Ireland. These figures signify an increase from the VCI 2020 Annual Report figures when there were 3,044 and 1,097 respectively. These figures represent increases of over 8% and 9% respectively.

There are currently 734 veterinary practice premises registered under the Council’s Statutory Premises Accreditation (PAS) Scheme. These include veterinary clinics, veterinary offices and veterinary hospitals.

In 2018, my Department commissioned an evaluation of the availability of farmed animal veterinary services in Ireland which is available at gov.ie- An Evaluation of Farmed Animal Veterinary Services in Ireland Report (www.gov.ie)/

Results of the 2018 evaluation and broader Federation of Veterinarians Europe studies shows that Ireland compares favourably to other European countries in terms of the number of veterinarians per 1,000 inhabitants (e.g., 0.43 compared to 0.41 in the UK, 0.29 in the Netherlands and 0.29 in France).

The analysis also suggests large-animal veterinary services are available within 20km of over 95% of Irish farms.

Notwithstanding these overall findings, the study did signal that certain rural areas in Ireland face challenges, in respect of the number of veterinary practitioners operating in some peripheral areas despite the analysis suggesting that large-animal veterinary services are available within 20km of over 95% of Irish farms.

While the number of registered veterinarians is at an all-time high, my Department is also aware of reports of difficulties of recruiting veterinary assistants currently and especially into large animal practices.

We continue to monitor this situation closely and will work with all stakeholders to ensure Irish farmers are adequately supported with the provision of veterinary services in the best interests of animal health and welfare.