Up to 12 nurses or midwives are being assaulted in the health system each day, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation's annual conference has heard.
Nurses said that the issue is under reported and is largely due to frustration among patients or families waiting for care.
INMO President Caroline Gourley said that safe staffing in the workplace along with safe staffing levels are essential issues to be dealt with by employers and there should be prosecutions for it.
The conference heard about one nurse who had her finger broken and her ring finger bent back.
Ms Gourley said there have been cases of facial injuries, back injuries after being pushed and also the mental health impact of the event, which can be traumatic and leads to staff being off work for a long time.
She said the frustration felt by patients or families is often down to overcrowding and patients being placed in inappropriate areas for care.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said that she takes the points made by the INMO about assaults on nurses very seriously.
Speaking at the union's annual conference, she said there was no justification to assault anybody but in particular a healthcare worker.
Ms MacNeill said people need to be careful about providing explanations or any justification for any assault.
She said that work is under way to make the environment in hospitals a better place for staff and patients.
The minister said it was a matter for hospital management to manage the environment in a safe way and that hospital managers must take responsibility for ensuring the appropriate security is in place.
The HSE said that ensuring the safety of employees and patients is a priority. It said it is committed to creating a safe environment within which to work or to be treated.
If a HSE staff member has been the victim of an assault, the Employee Assistance Programme is available to provide counselling.
The HSE said staff are encouraged to report all "near misses" and incidents – even those that do not result in harm.
As a result, the number of incident reports should not be considered as indicative of a level of harm.
