Optometry Ireland (OI) has appointed Jack O'Flanagan as its new executive director, a leadership change that matters to institute professionals as Ireland's stretched hospital eye care system pushes more patients toward community based optometrists. O'Flanagan previously managed the Forum of Irish Postgraduate Medical Training Bodies, leading national projects on governance, accreditation and strategy, and is a member of the Radiographers Registration Board within CORU, Ireland's multi-profession health regulator.

OI is the professional body representing optometrists in Ireland.

The appointment lands as Ireland's eye care system faces a documented capacity gap that community optometry is positioned to help absorb.

A national workforce report launched at the Irish College of Ophthalmologists' 2026 conference found Ireland has just 2.38 consultant ophthalmologists per 100,000 population, well below European and UK averages, with waiting lists exceeding 47,000 patients across adult and paediatric services, according to the Medical Independent.

OI president Liz Grennan said O'Flanagan brings "significant experience in project and change management, stakeholder engagement and working with government, regulatory and international partners." O'Flanagan said, "As Ireland's population grows and ages, demand for eyecare will continue to increase. In line with the principles of Sláintecare, we believe patients should have access to the right care, in the right place, at the right time."

For the sector, appointing a leader with direct accreditation and governance experience from postgraduate medical training signals OI's intent to professionalise its own standards as the case for expanding optometrists' scope grows stronger. For the sector's workforce planning specifically, aligning explicitly with Sláintecare's shift toward community care gives OI a stronger negotiating position as government looks for ways to relieve pressure on hospital eye services.

Whether OI secures a formally expanded scope of practice for optometrists, rather than continued informal reliance on community capacity, will be the clearer test of this leadership appointment.

Source: Clarity News / Medical Independent