Agriculture, Food and Marine Minister Martin Haydon said government departments “have no role in setting, prescribing or regulating pay scales” for workers in privately run veterinary practices.
The Minister made the comments in response to parliamentary questions from Fine Gael TD Colm Burke.
Deputy Burke asked the Minister whether consideration would be given to introducing “salary ranges for registered veterinary nurses to ensure that they reflect qualification status, and in particular taking into account the additional hidden costs that registered veterinary nurses incur annually”.
The Ministry of Defense has listed some demands on veterinary nurses, including an “annual registration fee with the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI), completing 12 continuing veterinary education units per year, in addition to long hours, unpaid overtime, and increased stress in the workplace.
MP Burke also said that “the average registered veterinary nurse salary in Ireland remains well below the national average, despite completing Level 6, Level 7 and Level 8 degrees.”
He also asked whether consideration would be given to providing “funding support to veterinary practices employing registered veterinary nurses (RVNs), allowing veterinary nurses to be paid fair wages without passing the entire cost onto pet owners and farmers”.
Veterinary Council of Ireland
In response to Representative Bork Minister Haydon It said government departments “have no role in determining, prescribing or regulating salary scales for employees of private sector organisations, including those who work in privately run veterinary practices.”
The Minister added: “Wages and conditions in the veterinary sector are matters for employers and individual employees, or their representative bodies, and are determined through normal contractual arrangements and labor market negotiations.
“The Veterinary Council of Ireland, which regulates the practice of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing under the auspices of my Department, has no statutory function in relation to wages, and neither does the Department.
“Accordingly, any salary structures or salary scale considerations for registered veterinary nurses or other employees in private veterinary practices remain outside the scope of government pay policy.”
