Gardaí will be issued with body cams by the end of the year, with the rollout planned for December.

The Irish Mail on Sunday reports that the pilot scheme will be rolled out as an additional protection measure for Gardaí while on the job.

It comes in the wake of a series of high-profile attacks on gardaí in recent weeks.

A Garda was bitten last week after responding to a dangerous driving incident at Gulliver's Retail Park in Ballymun.

Just days before, another Garda was assaulted at an anti-refugee protest in Cork.

Additional protection

Antoinette Cunningham, General Secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, told Newstalk that frontline workers need to be protected.

"We do see it as an additional form of personal protection equipment, particularly lately given the amount of assaults on our members", she said.

"Anything that can be done to speed up the process of the introduction of body-worn cameras we certainly welcome.

"We're significantly behind other police forces in neighbouring jurisdictions on body-worn cameras so it really is time that they were introduced for members of An Garda Síochána.

"Having called only last week for the matter to be expedited, I certainly welcome the fact that the legislation will be brought forward."

Arming Gardaí

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he would support a request to arm Gardaí in light of recent attacks.

When asked by the Irish Mail on Sunday late last year if the Garda rank-and-file should be armed, he said it's "very much a decision for the Garda Commissioner", Drew Harris, rather than a politician.

If the Garda Commissioner did ask him or the Minister for Justice to arm Gardaí, the Tánaiste said he "would absolutely say yes".

"I certainly wouldn't do anything to block that if he felt that was the right approach."

He also said that there is room in the budget to recruit an additional 1,000 Garda recruits in 2023.

Main image shows Gardaí patrolling Dublin City Centre. Image: Artur Widak / Alamy