Five staff working in the State healthcare system took sexual harassment claims in recent years, claiming they were assaulted by service users, according to details released to RTÉ's This Week.
The claims cover the period from 2012 up to last year, and represent almost half of all sexual harassment claims being handled by the State Claims Agency for the State.
However, the State Claims Agency has refused to give specific details about where the alleged abuse occurred in these or any other cases.
Fianna Fáil and the Oireachtas Justice Committee have added their voice to a call for the State Claims Agency to release a detailed breakdown of all sexual harassment claims made against individual public sector bodies.
It follows the refusal by the State Claims Agency to publish a breakdown, by employer and sector, of the sexual harassment claims which it handles on behalf of the State.
RTÉ had sought the details earlier this month.
That refusal prompted an initial call from the Justice Committee chairman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, who said it would be "crucial" to provide an insight into whether there were clusters of complaints in one or more place of public employment.
He has since secured the backing of the entire Oireachtas Justice and Equality Committee, who last week wrote to Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan asking him to back a call for the data to be released.
Up until recent days, the State Claims Agency had declined to release any information on such claims.
However, following the Committee's letter, it released a limited amount of information on the number of such claims, although it did not say where the claims emanated from specifically.
In a statement to RTÉ it said that the agency has 11 claims of sexual harassment in the workplace, which it said was "referable to three State Authorities, inclusive of all Delegated Healthcare Agencies, in the years 2012 to 2016".
It said in six cases the alleged assailant and victim are both staff members, while in the remaining five cases they said the assailant was a service user in the healthcare area and the victim was a staff member.
"These claims are extremely sensitive as they involve issues, often the subject matter of an on-going investigation, which go to the character and reputation of the alleged assailant," the agency said.
They added: "To divulge the identity of the workplace where such claims have occurred, given how few we are managing, could have the unintended consequence of identifying both the injured party and the alleged assailant.
"In many cases, the allegations may not be proven against the assailant who is entitled to fair procedures pending any on-going investigation (by SCA or other parties).
"Identification, through the release of claims information relative to these cases, could lead to significant adverse disclosures in respect of both parties."
They said: "The claims that the SCA handle, of this nature, are claims which are wholly or mainly ones seeking compensation for injury (mental or physical)."
However, speaking to RTÉ, Fianna Fáil Finance spokesman Michael McGrath said the State Claims Agency needs to provide a more detailed breakdown of the figures.
"It is evident from the information provided by the SCA that a significant number of the claims relate to the health sector - of those we do not know the specific agencies involved," he said.
He added: "It seems to me that the SCA could provide further sectoral information on the breakdown of the 11 claims without risking the identities of the people involved being revealed.
"We also need further information on the manner in which the SCA deals with such claims, how many of the cases end up in court, full details of all the costs incurred and whether the State seeks to recoup any of these costs from the alleged assailant."
