Irish Dental Association

The Irish Dental Association was established in 1922. The Association offers a wide range of educational and scientific services including publication of the Journal of the Irish Dental Association as well as organising two major educational conferences nationally each year plus as numerous regional CPD events. The Association also actively advocates for better oral health for the Irish population.

The Irish Dental Association exists to promote the interests of the dental profession and to promote the well-being of our country’s population through the attainment of optimum oral health.

We are a trade union which  exists to represent the honour and integrity of the profession. It represents dentists in all dealings and negotiations with government and other relevant bodies, and seeks to maintain just and reasonable terms of employment and proper remuneration for dentists.

Fintan Hourihan

Fintan Hourihan has served as chief executive of the Irish Dental Association since June 2008.

Fintan has extensive responsibilities including advising, representing and negotiating on behalf of individual dentists and groups of dentists with Government departments, the HSE, dental hospitals and other third party agencies.

He has a particular interest in risk management for individual practitioners with specific reference to probity and audit systems. Fintan oversaw the establishment of the dental complaints resolution service and a mentoring scheme for dentists in recent years and is also involved with the Practitioner Health Matters programme which assists dentists, doctors and pharmacists with mental health or addiction problems.

Fintan worked previously with the Irish Medical Organisation and the ASTI, representing doctors and teachers and has over two decades of experiences in individual and collective representation and negotiations on behalf of teachers, doctors and dentists. He represents the IDA at the Council of European Dentists and the world dental federation (FDI) and has served as Honorary Chair of the Irish Inter Professional Association.

He is a graduate of the University of Limerick and University College, Dublin and has contributed to and produced an extensive range of publications and articles.

Fintan is currently a Trustee of the Practitioner Health Matters Programme and previously served as Honorary Secretary until April 2022.