11 Nov 2026
A new report has suggested as many as three-quarters of nurses in Ireland could leave the profession.
Allister Webb
Job Title
The IVNA said the profession is close to "breaking point".
A veterinary nursing group has warned drastic action is needed to bring the profession in Ireland back from a potential “breaking point”.
The stark message came after a survey by the Irish Veterinary Nursing Association (IVNA) found less than a quarter of its participants plan to stay in the profession.
It also revealed barely a fifth (21.86%) said they would recommend nursing as a career, while nearly half (47.17%) were not confident about the profession’s future in Ireland.
A report of the survey published on the association’s website concluded: “The findings suggest that without radical interventions, the current recruitment and retention crisis will continue to escalate.”
The warning is based on the findings of the IVNA’s third national survey of the profession, conducted earlier this year, following similar analysis in both 2018 and 2023.
Out of 372 respondents in total, 315 were from RVNs, accounting for just over one in five (22.58%) of all nurses registered with the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI).
The report highlighted a “drastic collapse” in career retention, with the number of respondents planning to stay in the profession slumping from 57.22% in 2023 to just 24.3%.
Although a similar proportion (22.9%) were unsure of their career plans, more than half (52.8%) classed themselves as either “actively planning to leave” or considering doing so.
Low pay (92.61%) was the most commonly cited reason for departure in the survey, ahead of burnout and mental health concerns (81.82%), poor work-life balance (61.93%) and a lack of career progression (60.8%).
But the report also highlighted wide-ranging concerns about non-compliance with legislation, with more than half (56.1%) reporting having witnessed breaches of veterinary laws in either their current or previous roles.
More than a third (37.75%) said they had seen lay staff falsely referring to themselves as veterinary nurses, while nearly three-quarters (73.22%) said they were afraid to report breaches to The Veterinary Council of Ireland with lack of anonymity and fear of employment consequences cited as key barriers.
The survey also found fewer than a quarter (24.57%) received adequate statutory rest breaks, compared to more than a third (34.97%) who either never, rarely or sometimes had them.
Although the survey did find many employers were covering professional fees, the report said: “The comparison of these three data points unfortunately reveals a profession potentially at breaking point.”