Outpatient eye care waiting lists are continuing to rise, reaching almost 41,600 by the end of last month.
More than 16,000 of these are waiting more than a year.
Following these figures been released today optometrists are calling on Ireland's eye care services to be urgently reformed.
President of the Association of Optometrists Ireland, Triona Culliton, says that the services need to change
"This morning it's very disappointing that the outpatient waiting list for eye care is continuing to increase so now the figure is at 41,600," she said.
"In some parts of the country, there are waiting times of up to five years for cataract surgery, which is just disgraceful.
"The Association of Optometrists is calling for more routine eye care to be managed in the community and that will free up time for more specialised care to be managed in the hospitals."
Digital Desk
