Prison Officers were awarded over €2.5m in 2009 for injuries sustained in the line of duty.
The awards were made to 112 prison officers, whose injuries at work included stabbings, broken jaws, and needle attacks.
The highest award was over €500,000 and €329,473, while there were multiple awards of over €50,000.
Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has highlighted that the profile of prisoners has changed in recent years to include more gang members and a new generation of more violent inmates. There were over 150 assaults on prison offers in 2009.
Prison officers get a lot of negative press for their relatively high earnings and a massive overtime bill. The injuries sustained by so many prison offers put their salaries into perspective.