Political reaction: "Downright thuggery" rather than a lack of Garda resources was to blame for Saturday's riots, the Tánaiste said yesterday.
Speaking to reporters at Government Buildings, Ms Harney said: "We spend about €1.3 billion annually on the Garda Síochána . . . so nobody can say it was an issue of resources that led to what happened on Saturday. It was downright thuggery and I think it is a great pity it happened."
She continued: "A couple of years ago, on May Day, gardaí were criticised because they over-reacted, and now they are being criticised because they under-reacted, so it doesn't seem as if they can win."
She said she had thought we lived in an era of "peaceful democratic politics, respecting each other's position even if we disagreed with it strongly, and certainly the incidents in Dublin bring great shame to our city. . ."
In spite of the riots, the authorities had been right to give the go-ahead to the march: "I think it was right to allow the march to go ahead, and we should not allow a group of thugs to intimidate people from marching."
Ms Harney said she did not have much respect for the Orange Order, because it was a "sectarian, bigoted organisation", but she did respect people's right to march. She added: "I think that they have got a great coup in being prevented from marching, quite honestly. Those that sought to stop them have played right into their hands."
Meanwhile, during an address to the Institute of European Affairs yesterday, EU ambassador to the US John Bruton said that respect for properly-constituted authorities and respect for the freedom of expression of others were key European civic values. He added: "Events in Dublin on Saturday show that, even in this very sophisticated city, we have some distance to go in inculcating those values in all our citizens.
"The challenge for all of us is not one of generating respect for minorities in countries far away, but of generating it for minorities in our own neighbourhood and on our own island."