There are calls for a zero-tolerance approach to attacks on health care staff.
It's after new figures found there were over 7,300 verbal, physical or sexual assaults on staff in the last 18 months.
These figures were provided to Sinn Fein's Health Spokesperson David Cullinane through a parliamentary question.
Frontline staff bore the brunt of the attacks, with over 4,400 committed against nurses.
Deputy Cullinane, thinks overcrowding in hospitals are part of the reason this is happening:
"Patients waiting over 24 hours in many instances for access to care or to be admitted into the hospital if they're sick, that's put serious pressure on the patients and their families.
"None of that, it has to be said can be a justification for any sort of abuse."
He's called for the Department of Health to come up with a plan to prevent these attacks, including getting Gardai more involved.
After nurses, 'other staff', as described by the HSE, were attacked over 2,400 times, with 242 assaults against allied health professionals.
