The Garda Representative Association(GRA) is furious with the HSA over its failure to implement a major expert report carried out three years ago aimed at improving the safety of uniformed officers.

The union believes the safety of ordinary garda� is being severely compromised over what it sees as the HSA's ignoring of most of a report conducted by Dr Thomas Garavan, the country's foremost health and safety expert.

The report found that almost 90% of garda� felt they were under-equipped to carry out their frontline duties and 85% felt unsafe going to work.

It was scathing about the quality of health and safety within the force and said that "on many dimensions of best practice, safety, health and welfare policy and practice standards within the Garda S�och�na are unacceptable."

Below international standards GRA president John Egan told the Sunday Tribune: "This report was supposed to be a catalyst for change but it has generally been ignored, apart from the garda fleet being updated. It is imperative that it is acted on. We are still well below international standards in terms of the safety of police officers and the HSA is sitting on their hands and ignoring our safety.

"There has been a big increase in vicious attacks on garda� in recent months. When garda� are assaulted it is not just the officers' safety put in danger, but also ordinary law-abiding members of the public."

The GRA is unhappy that some garda� are being forced into covering areas as large as 1,000 square miles by themselves because of a lack of resources. "Lone working places garda� at risk and should be avoided as far as possible.

Individual garda� are vulnerable when working alone and it places a garda's safety at risk, " said Egan.

He also warned that the proposed Love Ulster parade was likely to be dogged by similar violence seen at the original march in Dublin if the HSA did not work with the association in discussing mistakes made previously.

The GRA made an official complaint to the HSA over its failure to properly prepare for the Love Ulster march, but the HSA has refused to release or even discuss the findings of its investigation into the matter.

Said Egan: "Twenty of our members were injured at the last Love Ulster parade yet we are being prevented from seeing their report. We don't want to see a repeat of the last riot and we want to meet the HSA to discuss all security and health and safety issues. The safety of garda� and the public is of paramount importance."

A spokesman for the HSA denied that the Garavan report, 'Work Safety, Health and Welfare in The Garda S�och�na', had been ignored.

"We are in close contact with the garda� and have a memorandum of understanding with them. We wouldn't release the results of an investigation into any organisation. The same rules apply to our investigations as they do to garda investigations and they do not release results either.

"We looked at what happened at the so-called Love Ulster march and took our findings to garda management for discussion. We dealt with the garda� the same way as we would with any employer, " the spokesman added.

Dickensian conditions The GRA is also disappointed that items such as pepper spray have not been introduced as a safe means of bringing violent and dangerous criminals under control.

Egan said: "We are not being given pepper spray even though it has been proven to be safe to use. One of our members, who is 18 stone, allowed himself to be sprayed and it brought him to his knees yet he could see again within minutes and there were no lasting effects. In Britain the introduction of pepper spray has reduced injuries to police officers by 50% and it is preferable than having to use a baton."

The association also said that garda� nationwide are "still working in Dickensian conditions", with many stations in serious disrepair.

Ordinary members are not being given basic equipment such as Mepro lights which warn motorists about checkpoints or road accidents ahead.