14 Dec 2020
Agreement will enable graduates of Irish and UK veterinary schools to continue to seek to practise in the other country when they wish.
Vet Times
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The RCVS and the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) have reaffirmed the registration protocol for veterinary surgeons and the continued recognition of each other’s accredited veterinary degrees once the transition period arrangements between the UK and the EU end post-Brexit.
To carry out the practice of veterinary medicine, a veterinary practitioner must be registered in the jurisdiction they are practising in – that is, a veterinary practitioner who practises veterinary medicine in the Republic of Ireland must be registered with the VCI; likewise, a veterinary surgeon who practises in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland or Wales must be registered with the RCVS.
EU Directive 2005/36EC enables a veterinary surgeon who is lawfully established and registered in an EU member state to provide services on a temporary and occasional basis in another member state.
This service allows registered veterinary surgeons to occasionally practise in other countries in the EU for short periods, up to a maximum of 30 days per year.
From 1 January 2021, the EU directive will no longer apply to veterinary practitioners from the Republic of Ireland who may want to provide veterinary services in the UK, and they would therefore need to be registered with the RCVS even if provision of these services is temporary and occasional.
On 31 October 2019, a mutual qualification recognition agreement between the RCVS and the VCI was signed by the respective presidents of the two regulatory bodies.
This agreement was enacted to allow the mutual recognition of programmes of veterinary medicine education between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, in the context of the UK-EU transition period ending on 31 December 2020.
The agreement means the degree in veterinary medicine from University College Dublin can be recognised by the RCVS, and the current eight RCVS-recognised UK veterinary medicine degrees can be recognised by the VCI.
The recognised qualifications are accepted as the basis for registration to practise veterinary surgery by the RCVS in the UK and veterinary medicine by the VCI in the Republic of Ireland.
Regardless of whether a trade agreement has been signed between the EU and the UK by 1 January 2021, this will have no bearing on the mutual qualification recognition agreement currently in place.
The option remains open to any veterinary surgeon with a recognised qualification in veterinary medicine from UCD or an accredited programme in the UK to apply to register in the other jurisdiction.
Niamh Muldoon, chief executive and registrar of the VCI, said: “We would like to thank the RCVS for its collaboration in developing this mutual qualification recognition agreement, which will significantly benefit veterinary practitioners in both the UK and Ireland.
“This historic agreement will enable graduates of Irish and UK veterinary schools to continue to seek to practise in the other country when they wish. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our colleagues in the RCVS in the future for the benefit of the profession in both countries.”
