ATTACKS ON gardaí have become so violent and frequent that the use of Taser stun guns by uniformed members will have to be considered in the future, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) has said.
Association vice-president Damien McCarthy said an average of two Garda members were attacked on duty last year, often by people who had consumed both alcohol and cocaine. The GRA believes pepper sprays, which have already been approved for use, should immediately be issued to all members of the force.
Mr McCarthy has also urged senior Garda management and the Government to examine the possibility of issuing other items to gardaí, including velcro restraint strips, rigid handcuffs and puncture-resistant gloves.
He said the gloves could protect gardaí from being bitten by attackers, some of whom are HIV-positive. When asked about the possible introduction of Taser stun guns, Mr McCarthy said: "It's something that will have to be looked at in the future. The Regional Support Units and Emergency Response Unit have looked at those measures also."
Mr McCarthy was speaking to RTÉ Radio 1's Today With Pat Kenny show in the wake of the publication in the GRA's magazine Garda Review of graphic photographs of facial injuries sustained by two young gardaí.
One of the photographs featured a female garda who was attacked when tackling a group of teenagers at a bonfire during Halloween. She suffered severe bruising to her left eye during an attack in which her eye socket was fractured.
"It's unfortunate to say at this point in time her sight hasn't come back 100 per cent," Mr McCarthy said.
The other member pictured was left with a deep scar below his left eye and needed 25 stitches after he was stabbed in the face with a broken bottle during an incident in Dublin's north inner city two years ago. "Unfortunately Garda White will be reminded of that attack every day of his life, he was quite a substantial scar on his face," Mr McCarthy said.
Violent attacks on gardaí were now occurring "every day and every night" and were not confined to any geographical area.
"It's a change in society in the last number of years that gardaí themselves have had to experience and in particular the uniformed garda who is at the coalface of policing is suffering a great deal as a result."
Attacks on members of the force are up from 356 attacks in 2005 to 655 last year.
Mr McCarthy said while the Garda Inspectorate had recommended the issuing of pepper sprays to all gardaí in a report published in February, all gardaí would have to undergo training and the sprays would need to be procured before roll out.
In the meantime gardaí would be forced to deal with violent and drug-fuelled attacks. Aggressive people under the influence of cocaine often demonstrated "amazing strength" and had no respect for members of the public or gardaí.
"When we arrive at the scene you are totally ignored and some people will go to any length to cause maximum damage and prevent themselves from being arrested," Mr McCarthy said of some cocaine users.
The GRA would continue to speak out until its members were issued with pepper sprays and the other equipment needed to protect the safety of gardaí, who were "at the coal face" of dealing with public disorder.
