Two-thirds of prison officers feel unsafe at work, and 86 per cent feel they are not being adequately protected, according to a survey conducted for the Prison Officers' Association (POA).
The research, which surveyed 10 per cent of the State's prison officers, found 43 per cent of officers experienced "physically challenging behaviour" on a weekly or daily basis in the last year.
The survey found that just under 3 per cent of prison officers believed that overall morale in the prison service had improved in the last three years, while 87 per cent reported a decrease in workplace morale.
A total of 12 per cent of respondents said they had been either seriously or very seriously injured while at work during the last year.
Although some 80 per cent said they intended to stay in their job for the foreseeable future, nearly three-quarters said they would quit if they found a better-paid job. Just over half said they were happy with their current pay.
Over half of all respondents reported feeling apprehensive at work, while seven in ten had taken sick leave because of stress. Only one in eight said they were proud to be prison officers.
POA deputy general secretary Eugene Dennehy said the findings of the report "simply cannot be ignored by prison management".
But the director general of the Irish Prison Service, Brian Purcell, insisted today that officers' safety was "of the utmost concern".
"All efforts are made to manage, in so far as is possible, the risks associated with holding convicted criminals in prison," Mr Purcell said.
He also noted a package of security measures that has been announced by Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan is being discussed with the POA.