Gardaí acted proportionately in the majority of water protests last year, the Garda Ombudsman has found.

GSOC's annual report for 2015 reveals that it only sent one incident of Garda behaviour at water protests to the DPP - who then decided not to prosecute.

The Commission received 40 complaints about Garda behaviour at water protests or meter installations - according to its annual report.

But more than half were not followed up, either because the complaint was dropped, or it wasn't made by a direct witness.

Most complaints related to allegations of assault or excessive force, and the majority related to incidents in north Dublin during installations of metres by Irish Water

GSOC examined video footage from Garda body cameras and videos shared on social media, and found no clear evidence of Garda misconduct, and that the actions of officers was proportionate.

The complaints were among nearly 2 thousand received by GSOC last year - an 11 per cent drop on 2014.

The most common complaints were around abuse of authority and neglect of duty.