The recent sickening attacks on our gardaí carrying out their duties have appalled most people in this country. They are extremely worrying and concerning. The lack of regard for the uniform that has crept in in some places is extremely disturbing. The lack of regard for the human being wearing that uniform is even more disturbing. Will the Taoiseach assure me that this problem is being given the highest priority in the Government? It is completely unacceptable. It is a very dangerous road for this country to go down. Figures I have obtained show that, in a period of under four years up to 1 October 2022, over 200 Garda vehicles were rammed. I tried to raise this under Oral Questions but was told that under Standing Order 44 I could not. This needs a serious response from the very highest level in the Government.

I thank Deputy Griffin for raising this issue. Attacks on the Garda or any of our uniformed services are unacceptable. They are not just attacks on an individual; they are also attacks on the wider community and on our State. The Minister, Deputy Harris, had a meeting with the Garda representative bodies very recently and assured them that we are taking this extremely seriously. Among the actions we will take are legislation to allow gardaí to wear body cameras, which would be a potential deterrent and would make it easier to prosecute people who attack them, and changes to increase the sentences imposed on people who attack not just gardaí but other uniformed and emergency services personnel as well.