There have been 125 attacks on ambulance staff since 2017.

New figures show 57 paramedics have been physically assaulted when responding to emergency calls.

Some 12 staff were forced to miss work as a result of the injuries sustained.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has condemned the incidents and says if appropriate, such behaviour is reported to the Gardaí.

The chairperson of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association is Sinead McGrath.

"I think it's shocking"

"Unfortunately, we live in a culture where, for a lot of people, emergency service workers are fair game to be assaulted.

"We will encounter people who due to their illnesses are unwell [and] become agitated, become aggressive - and that is something that you just have to deal with in this line of work.

"But the other side of the coin are those who are maybe under the influence of alcohol or drugs and they don't see a problem with assaulting a member of the emergency services."

"I think the HSE really need to engage much more deeply in making the public aware that there should be zero tolerance where this is concerned.

"We need to see people who are assaulting our paramedics, our EMTs, etc - we need to see them being taken to court, we need to see them being given the full five years imprisonment.

"The message needs to be sent home: these people are going out to help you, that is their job - and to assault them is simply unacceptable".

Reporting by Eoghan Murphy