5% of gardaí injured while on duty last year

One in 20 gardaí suffered an injury in the course of duty last year as the force reported a 5.5% increase in the number of occupational injuries.

A total of 687 accidents were recorded among the 12,838-strong force during 2016 — an annual increase of 36 injuries over the previous year.

It is the highest annual total in recent years and equates to 5.4% of all gardaí sustaining some work-related injury.