Veterinary Practitioner

Under EU legislation veterinary practitioners who are EEA nationals and are established in another EEA member state to practise veterinary medicine, can apply for registration in Ireland for the purpose of providing veterinary medicine services on a temporary and occasional basis. Those entitled to apply can be entered in Part B of the Register for the provision of temporary and occasional services in Ireland pursuant to section 43(7) of the Veterinary Practice Act, for a period not exceeding 12 months.

What does temporary and occasional services mean?

In Ireland, the provision of temporary and occasional services is governed by European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2017, which gives effect to Directive 2005/36/EC.

A number of criteria must be met before a veterinary practitioner, registered and established in another EEA State, can be eligible to provide services on a temporary and occasional basis in the Republic of Ireland. These are:

• The applicant must be a national of a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA), or Switzerland, or hold European Community rights.
• The applicant must be currently established and allowed to practise as a veterinary practitioner without restriction in another EEA state.
• The applicant must intend only to provide services in the State on a temporary and occasional basis.
• The applicant must not be established (permanently) in Ireland.

Eligibility for temporary and occasional service provision is assessed by the Veterinary Council on a case-by-case basis against parameters set down in law by the Professional Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC.

These parameters are:

• Duration
• Frequency
• Regularity
• Continuity

The description of service is assessed against the above parameters to establish if the service is being provided on a temporary and occasional basis.

If the Council can positively prove that an applicant is lawfully and permanently established in Ireland, then an applicant may be ineligible to avail of the rules for temporary and occasional provision of services. A person is established when they are settled in an EU Member State in a stable and lasting way. A professional may be established in more than one Member State at any given time.

For further information on how to apply in accordance with VCI Registration Regulations 2022 for registration in Part B of the Register for the provision of temporary and occasional services in Ireland please contact the VCI office team by email to registration@vci.ie.