It's been waiting for more than a quarter of a century to move to Belfield, but this month UCD's vet school took a vital leap forward. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has granted planning permission for a new school of veterinary medicine on the university's main campus. The development includes a three-storey academic building and a single-storey veterinary teaching hospital in a landscaped setting.

The veterinary college is currently based in Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge. Last year, a high-level international group set up by the Veterinary Council - the profession's regulatory body - reported that some of the facilities at the Shelbourne Road site were so inadequate that they merited closure. The new development will cost £27 million. UCD has already raised some of this money, but the lion's share will have to be paid for by the Exchequer.

UCD must put building plans on hold until Government funding is in place.