Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said he would not "dump on" gardaí in the wake of the riots in Dublin on Saturday.
Mr McDowell said he was politically accountable for the policing function in the State, but he did not micro-manage the Garda, and it would be inappropriate for him to do so.
"We trust the Garda's professional judgment," he said. "I stand by them. I don't dump on them in public just because something unexpected happened." The Minister was answering questions after a two-hour Dáil debate on Saturday's riots.
"The professional judgment of policemen is surely better than the political judgment of elected representatives," he added.
He said there had not been a single complaint against the Garda, who acted with remarkable restraint and discipline during the riot which prevented the loyalist march in the capital city.
Opening the debate, the Minister said that security at upcoming events may have to be reconsidered in the wake of Saturday's riots.
In an apparent reference to the 1916 commemoration and the St Patrick's Day parade, Mr McDowell said that "there are other upcoming public events in our capital city in particular, many of them celebratory, that may now have to be reconsidered as to the degree of security" required.
He said "it will be our priority to take whatever steps are practical to ensure that no drunken rabble ever again besmirch the good name of our capital city as they did in recent days".
The approach adopted by the Garda was "measured, proportionate and effective". He added that it was "easy, with hindsight, to suggest what might or might not have been done to avoid what transpired", but he accepted that the security threat was underestimated.
He stressed, however, that "the blame for the turn of events last Saturday lies squarely with those who indulged in wanton violence and destruction on the streets of our capital city and with those who encouraged, either directly or indirectly, this sort of behaviour".
The Minister stressed that "there was a comprehensive operational policing plan in place prior to the weekend. This was far from some seat-of-the-pants exercise and the determination of subversive and thuggish elements to cause disruption should not be allowed to distract from this fact." He said the Garda's planning showed that "there was no carelessness. Nor is there any truth in the suggestion that the planning was hampered by lack of resources." The Garda decided it should be a "soft cap" rather than a "hard hat" event, and they kept the riot squad in reserve.
He said that about 50 Republican Sinn Féin protesters congregated at the top of O'Connell Street to protest and attempt to disrupt the march. "However - and this was the really unexpected element - some 200-300 other people suddenly massed, many from streets and public houses close by, and began to attack Garda officers with a range of missiles, including billiard balls, fireworks and smoke bombs. In the course of the rioting that followed two petrol bombs were hurled at gardaí."
Despite the disturbances, "the Garda actually managed to facilitate the loyalist demonstration in taking place here outside Leinster House".
He was not suggesting that lessons could not be learned, and they would. "But hindsight is a wonderful thing. I can imagine the complaints of some if the Garda had closed down the city centre and its shops and pubs, and put some kind of ring of steel in place around this march, denying it any chance to pass off normally."
