Welcoming the two new vet schools announced this week, Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh said that nobody should be forced abroad to study veterinary.

Speaking at day three of Ploughing 2024, Walsh told the Irish Farmers Journal that she is "absolutely delighted" with the announcement of two new vet schools in South East Technological University (SETU) and Atlantic Technological University (ATU).

"As a pro-European, I love when people say they're going on Erasmus and studying across the EU - I think that's brilliant.

"But when you are forcing people to not have a choice to stay in the country to do something they love, we're in desperate need of vets and yet we're sending them to Poland and Hungary, which we have our issues with rule of law. I'm glad that smartness prevailed," she said.

Up to now, University College Dublin was the only college offering veterinary medicine, with just over 40 places for Irish students every year.

The new courses in SETU and ATU are expected to result in an additional 80 vet graduates per year.

Last week, University of Limerick (UL) informed the HEA that it was withdrawing its expression of interest.

"For whatever reason, this decision has been dragging its feet for a number of academic years and it's nonsense in my eyes.

"It's a really big day for the went of Ireland. A small town like Mountbellew is punching above its weight in terms of really developing rural Ireland," said Walsh.