A hoax bomb was found under the car of a garda outside his house in Clondalkin, West Dublin this morning.
The device was found shortly after 8am when it was spotted underneath the vehicle by a member of the officer's family.
The area was sealed off before an Army bomb disposal dealt with it. It later emereged the device was an elaborate hoax designed to look like a pipe bomb.
The officer is believed to belong to the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the unit that fights organised crime.
Last week potentially lethal pipe bomb devices were discovered at two houses in Dublin. Their use has been linked to organised criminals in the capital.
One house was targeted in Kilbarrack early on Friday morning while a similar device partially detonated at a house in Coolock on Wednesday afternoon.