Gardaí failed to report 1,600 pepper spray incidents in time

Figures obtained by the newspaper show that 1,794 reports of Garda use of incapacitating spray on suspects were reported between January 2016 and August 2018.

However, in 1,566 cases (87 per cent), gardaí failed to notify Gsoc within 48 hours in line with internal An Garda Síochána directives.

In some cases, the incidents were notified up to two years after they occurred.

Gardaí also regularly failed to notify Gsoc of Taser incidents within the required timescale. Of the 68 reports over the period, some 35 (51 per cent) were notified more than 48 hours later.

Liam Herrick, executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), told The Irish Times: “Given the complete failure to comply even with its own guidelines on reporting incidents within a reasonable time to Gsoc, it is difficult to have confidence that all incidents are being recorded.”