Breaking windscreens, slashing tyres and throwing bricks at gardaí is not "peaceful protest", Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has said in the Dáil.

She told Socialist TD Ruth Coppinger that chanting "peaceful protest" did not hide such actions, which had placed children in a dangerous situation.

She said there was an established procedure through which to make a complaint about individual gardaí but “it is stand reality on its head to say it is the behaviour of gardaí that has led to trouble”.

Tens of thousands of people had behaved with dignity and protested peacefully she said. It was a small number of protestors who had behaved this way, including detaining the Tánaiste against her will.

Ms Coppinger had asked how much had been spent in policing protests against the installation of water meters.

The Dublin West TD said people had been aghast at the number of gardaí at protests against the installation of meters, when they were not available, for example, for women who had barring orders and needed them enforced.

She also asked about alleged incidents of pepper spraying of protestors and an incident at a protest outside the Mansion House where a Garda threw a woman out of the way, when she went in front of the Taoiseach’s car.

Ms Coppinger said that given six years of austerity, with cuts in pay, in social welfare, and other cuts and tax increases, the Minister must expect people to be angry.

The Dublin West TD said no bricks were thrown at any protest in Tallaght.

Ms Fitzgerald said: “If people have thrown themselves at cars, clearly the Gardai have to protect them.”

“There is a long tradition in this country of peaceful protests, the gardaí have a responsibility to monitor and to help and to allow those protests take place.”

She added: “What I am concerned about in relation to the current situation and the kind of behaviour that means that the gardaí have to be present at these protests, the costs I am concerned about are Garda time, the cost to Garda equipment and vehicles.

“And I am concerned about the potential cost to life and serious injury.”