Senior gardaí have called for the immediate provision of bullet and stab-proof vests for all officers.
In the wake of the Garda Inspectorate report on seige situations published yesterday, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) also called for a defence spray to be issued to all gardaí.
The report said strict procedures for dealing with siege situations had still not been developed in the seven years since the Abbeylara tragedy. It said gardaí are were risk in siege situations because they were ill-equipped and insufficiently trained.
The Inspectorate, headed by former Boston police chief Kathleen O'Toole, found that less-lethal weapons currently used by the ERU could have a role in seige situations.
Today the AGSI said it welcomed the "eminently sensible and practical report which is full of commonsense recommendations" and said they should all be put in place immediately.
"The changes recommended recognise the dramatic changes which are taking place in front line policing in terms of increased use of firearms and other weapons and the measures needed to protect both the members of An Garda Síochána and the public.
The AGSI also welcomed the report's conclusions on how barricade incidents should be conducted. "These are the considered views of expert police practitioners and we feel they are absolutely right."