Over 2,000 Gardaí assaulted while on duty in the past seven years – Farrell

Over 2,000 Gardaí have been assaulted while on duty over the past seven years, which reinforces the need for our frontline heroes to be protected and equipped with Bodycams, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Deputy Alan Farrell, Fine Gael’s Justice spokesperson, said: “Gardaí put themselves in harm’s way on a constant basis to protect the people and communities they serve; they deserve our utmost respect and appreciation for the work they do.

“Unfortunately, we have seen steady increase in assaults against Gardaí in recent years, with 186 members of the force attacked while on duty this year to the end of May alone.

“Figures provided to me show that from 2015 to December 2022, 2,080 Gardaí were assaulted while on active duty. This includes 509 in the Dublin metropolitan region, while outside of Dublin, Kerry had the highest number of assaults against Gardaí with 157 incidents.

“In Tipperary 135 Gardaí were attacked, while in Waterford and Galway the numbers stood at 156 and 110 respectively.

“These heinous attacks are an attack not just on the individual but on communities as a whole. It is essential that frontline workers are protected while carrying out their roles and that the law reflects and responds to any situation that they find themselves in.

“Building stronger, safer communities is one of Minister Helen McEntee’s central priorities and this of course includes the frontline heroes who protect our communities.

“Separate figures I obtained also show that last year saw the highest number of Gardaí assaulted over a ten year period, with 305 members of the force sustaining injury following an assault while on duty.

“We also regularly see racially motivated abuse and harassment against Gardaí from a minority background with these incidents then posted on social media in some cases. This is reprehensible and must be condemned in the strongest terms, these workers do not deserve to be harassed as they carry out their duty.

“Government recently agreed to increase sentences for assaults causing harm to Gardaí and emergency service workers, which will enable members of the judiciary to hand down tougher sentences to the perpetrators of these appalling crimes.

“Government is committed to taking further action to protect our Gardaí and frontline workers as necessary.

“Bodycams will be vital in terms of protecting gardai Gardaí and for evidence of the nature of assaults and incidents that they are facing. It also makes little sense that the only individual involved in a confrontation with a member of the force who is without a camera and with footage of the incident is the Gardaí themselves – this puts them in a more vulnerable position.

“Our approach to the use of the technology underpinning body cameras will be robust and fully in line with all of our constitutional, European and international obligations to the rights of our people.

“Around 11 EU countries already use this technology with several more are expected to follow suit, and we must be at the forefront of equipping our Gardaí to keep them safe.