Capital programme for €41 million veterinary college at ATU Donegal approved

The capital programme supporting the new €41 million veterinary college at ATU Donegal has been formally approved by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.

The facility will be located at Carnamuggagh in Letterkenny and is expected to be completed for the 2028-2029 school year.

Welcoming the announcement by the Minister of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Martin Heydon, Donegal Minister of State, Charlie McConalogue, said: “During my time as Minister for Agriculture, I worked extremely hard to make sure that Donegal ATU would be designated as one of the two new veterinary colleges in the country. I have continued to liaise closely with Donegal ATU and the departments regarding this project, and I’m delighted that it has now moved to this stage.”

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“A total of €32.749 million has been approved in Exchequer funding, with €8.62 million being provided by the ATU. Donegal ATU is a wonderful asset for our county, and this latest announcement by Minister Lawless and Minister Heydon underlines the government’s commitment to third level education in the North-West. This news is also rewarding for the management and staff at the college who are doing great work in developing and expanding its offerings.

“The new veterinary college in Letterkenny will bring Donegal ATU to a new level and will serve to boost the local economy as well. It will support 200 students through the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVMS programme), providing essential skills for the region and entire island.

The new flagship facilities will include over 3500m2 of specialised accommodation and the development of associated site infrastructure, establishing a purpose-built, sustainable, and future-focused veterinary campus, serving as a national hub for clinical training, community health, and One Health leadership.

Donegal ATU was selected as one of two institutions expanding their third-level veterinary medicine places alongside South East Technological University (SETU). The new programme of Veterinary Medicine will be primarily delivered from ATU Donegal in conjunction with ATU Mountbellew in Galway, complementing current offerings in Veterinary Nursing and Agriculture in the Donegal campus and Agriculture provision in the Mountbellew campus.

The projects are being developed jointly by the departments, and this approval marks a significant milestone in the expansion of Ireland’s veterinary education capacity and will facilitate the creation of 80 additional student places annually from 2026.

“This announcement is also an important step for Irish agriculture and Irish farmers in a context of being able to have a pipeline of young, qualified vets who are involved in large animal practices and providing quality veterinary support. In the past, our young people would have has to leave the county or the country to pursue veterinary medicine. But now they will have the opportunity to do that here in Donegal,” Minister McConalogue added.

“Earlier this year, the contract for the commencement of construction of a new €25 million library and an IT and education building at ATU’s Letterkenny campus was signed. And last November, Donegal ATU was allocated €8.7 million under the Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund for the Letterkenny Regional Sports and Activity Hub – this is a development which will cost a total of €17 million and will be located at the Knocknamona site. These significant investments are a massive vote of confidence in Donegal ATU and will serve the students and the local community. These are exciting times for Donegal ATU and for the students who will be enrolling there in the years ahead,” the Minister of State added.