The Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said he had been assured by gardaí that he was not the intended target of an unexploded device found near his home.
A controlled explosion was carried out on Sunday evening on the improvised explosive device (IED) which the Army described as "dangerous, unstable and potentially lethal".
It was discovered near the wall of a house in Somerton Road, Castleknock, at 7pm on Sunday.
The house, which is near the Castleknock Golf and Country Club, is just 200 yards from Mr Lenihan's residence.
"I was not a target . . . The intelligence the gardaí have is that it [the device] was being stored there for pick up by someone else.
"It was nothing to do with me. It is a coincidence that it was near my residence," he said.
Mr Lenihan praised gardaí for seizing the device which could have been used in a future crime.
"The gardaí have been very assiduous in briefing me about this and they're doing a very good job here. The discovery of this particular item pre-empted its use in any criminal sense that's very welcome.
"Naturally as a resident of an area where it was found I'm concerned, but the wider good news from a public point of view is that it has been located and clearly the gardaí have very good information here and they're acting upon it."
The device was packed inside a lunchbox and contained gunpowder and a detonator.
The area was sealed off, and the device was made safe by the Army's bomb disposal unit.
It was taken to Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park yesterday where it is being examined by the Garda Technical Bureau.