Victor Boyhan: Proposes Veterinary Technician Model to Tackle Shortage
Victor Boyhan argues for adopting an international veterinary technician model to address shortages in large-animal practice and to strengthen animal welfare during live exports. He compares systems in France and Denmark, and urges clearer accreditation and scope for veterinary nurses.
Proposal and purpose: Victor Boyhan presents the veterinary technician model as a practical solution to a growing shortage of vets willing to work in large-animal practice. He recommends considering accredited technician roles that can administer medications and carry out defined procedures under supervision.
International comparisons: Boyhan points to France and Denmark as examples where veterinary technicians operate within defined thresholds of practice. He frames these models as precedent for safely broadening scope while maintaining animal welfare standards during transport and on-farm care.
Pathways and workforce: The speaker highlights alternative training routes for people who love animals and agriculture but do not seek full veterinary qualifications. He stresses that different courses and accreditation can unlock more practical expertise and better remuneration for veterinary nurses.
Regulation and scope: Boyhan notes ongoing engagement with regulatory bodies on scope expansion, including questions about ultrasonography and the limits of what veterinary nurses can do. He calls for clear rules, accreditation and fair pay to ensure welfare and service delivery.
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Just to follow on what Deputy Fitzmaurice is saying, I think it's worth looking at the international model of veterinary technicians. We see here, we've heard this with animal welfare issues, where vets, and no disrespect to you, but vets are seriously being a lot more money than you would be on, and they're going out accompanying the live export of cattle to Libya, for instance, all over the place. We see in France that these technicians, also very, I'm talking about very heavy veterinary practice, and that's not to stereotype veterinary nurses as just doing small animals, which they do, and some of them do bigger animals, but there's a real shortage in getting vets to do large animal practice. That is the reality of it. That's what I'm told by veterinarians all over this country. So if you look at, Denmark is similar, they have veterinary technicians, so they administer a certain amount of dosing and medications, etc. So there's a threshold and accreditation for that, and it comes at, you know, at the end of the day, money for a lot of people is an issue too, and I think you should consider looking at the model of veterinary technicians. And it's a lot of people that, and again, don't take this up the wrong way when I'm saying this, but, you know, there are a lot of people who like animals and like agriculture, but they don't want to have a master's degree in agriculture in UCD, or they don't want to be fully qualified veterinarians. They may have more empathy, more sympathy, more understanding, more practical knowledge than any vet, or whatever. But I'm just saying there are different courses, there are different pathways to working with animals and working with agriculture, etc. But in terms of veterinary practice, or veterinary practices rather than practitioners, I think you should look at the model because I think it works, and there's a demand, and there is a requirement, of course, to have some expertise, and also in terms of animal welfare, because that has become a huge issue with the exporting of live animals, and that's not going to stop. So therefore, I just think you might look at it, but well done, I think it's a great profession, and I think you are amazing ambassadors for your own profession, if I may say so as well, so well done. Thank you, Senator. I'm conscious that there's a vote called in the Dáil at the minute, and the time we've allocated for this session is consumed at this stage. Are there any particular points that you feel that you wanted to raise, or if there's any unanswered questions that you'd be welcome to correspond with the committee on anyway, or if there's any particular points that you wanted to raise over the next minute or two anyway? It was just a thought in regards to the scope of the veterinary nurse, that there is clear information on what a nurse can and can't do. It's very similar to what a general nurse is. We do always engage with the VCI to try and broaden that scope. We have engaged with them, say for example, on ultrasonographer, we have asked them, can veterinary nurses scan animals, and obviously without making the diagnostic decisions there and then, but we are continuously trying to improve the scope to effectively get a larger remuneration from them as well.
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