Strict procedures for dealing with siege situations have still not been developed in the seven years since the Abbeylara tragedy, according to a Garda Inspectorate report published today.
It said gardaí are at risk in siege situations because they are ill-equipped and insufficiently trained.
The report also criticises the procedures for selecting on-scene commanders and makes 84 recommendations to improve the handling of "barricade incidents".
In April 2000, Garda marksmen shot dead John Carthy (27) after a 25-hour siege in Abbeylara Co Longford in an operation criticised by a subsequent tribunal for its poor organisation.
Mr Carthy, who had a history of psychiatric illness, was shot four times by marksmen from the Emergency response Unit (ERU) after he emerged from his home armed with a shotgun. The Barr Tribunal found the shooting of Mr Carthy was lawful but was highly critical of Garda organisation at the scene.
Today's report acknowledged that "important enhancements" had been implemented since Abbeylara but said practices and procedures were not sufficiently "robust" and must be continuously improved.
Among its key recommendations is that a roster of health professionals be developed to assist gardaí when barricade incidents arise. A formal understanding with the Health Service Executive (HSE) should be signed which includes specialist training and annual refresher courses, it said.
The report is critical of efforts to train officers in siege-command and noted that while over one hundred gardaí had passed a course, it was not mandatory to select from this pool when a barricade incident developed.
It recommends that command of a scene should be handed to officers selected from a roster of certified-trained gardaí and that these officers should attend annual refresher courses.
One of the most contentious aspects of the Carthy killing was the role of RTÉ radio which reported live from the scene, named Mr Carthy and revealed personal details about him.
Mr Carthy listened to the broadcast during the siege and Mr Justice Robert Barr found it influenced his state of mind. However, the Inspectorate commended the media's conduct in siege situations and recommended that the Garda develop formal communication protocols in future situations.
The report also advises that better radio communications be developed for officers at the scene in terms of both equipment and protocols.
Following publication of the Barr report, the family of Mr Carthy urged gardaí to have non-lethal weapons at its disposal in similar situations.
The Inspectorate, headed by former Boston police chief Kathleen O'Toole, found that less-lethal weapons currently used by the ERU could have role. But it warns: "these options are not an alternative to firearms in all situations."
Responding to today's report, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said he had approved the extension of the use of less-lethal weapons to officers outside the ERU who are part of the recommended "second tier response teams".
He said the process of implementing some of the report's proposals had already begun, such as the issuing of anti-stab and anti-ballistic vests and the development of firearms training facilities.
These major developments will now be reinforced by the comprehensive implementation of the recommendations of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate. "The Garda Commissioner is committed to this, and he will have my full support," Mr McDowell said.
While the Inspectorate's report followed a recommendation by Mr Justice Barr to review Garda procedures for barricade incidents following the Abbeylara incident, Mr Carthy's death was not the subject of the review.
It also considered incidents since Abbeylara at: Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny; Roscrea, Co Tipperary; Gort, Co Galway and Portlaoise.