Protesters at burnt house were told it wasn’t for refugees
Gardaí were patrolling Leixlip property before arson attack
GARDAÍ said they told protesters outside a house in Co. Kildare that it was not going to be used to house asylum seekers, but were not believed and the property was later set ablaze.
The property in Leixlip was seriously damaged in the arson attack in the early hours of Wednesday morning, despite being the focus of regular Garda patrols.
It comes as three arrests were made in relation to an arson attack on New Year’s Eve at a former pub in Ringsend, Dublin, earmarked for homeless accommodation. Yesterday, two men and a woman were arrested. The woman was later released.
Gardaí said the building in Leixlip was the subject of a ‘significant volume’ of misinformation, disinformation and rumour.
Gardaí investigating the attack said they were working with other Garda stations investigating similar incidents across the country. A forensic examination of the seven-bedroom detached house was taking place and gardaí were reviewing CCTV footage. The property, which had been vacant, was partly set on fire in a separate attack last week.
Superintendent Georgina Gray, of Leixlip Garda Station, said local gardaí were aware that false information had been circulating online about the property.
‘That information or that rumour was there beforehand, and protests had been taking place – local protests, very peaceful,’ she said ‘We, the guards, had engaged daily with those protests. We engaged with the property owner, we engaged with local representatives here. So there has been a lot of engagement ongoing for the past few weeks to dispel any of those rumours and allay any fears that people would have,’ she added.
‘We had been doing regular patrols when we became aware that there may be an issue at that property. We were doing daily patrols up there and an investigation did take place and was continuing in relation to that first attack up at that house.
‘We had liaised with the property owner... in relation to things that he could do to help prevent any further attacks on the house.’
She said that the property owner had taken on some of the security advice and had been in the early stages of protecting the property.
She appealed to people to contact gardaí if they had heard any misinformation or had any concerns. Superintendent Gray added: ‘We say to people, please do not listen to any information and come to us here or your local public representative. It’s very difficult for the public when rumours are going around, and myths and misinformation.
‘We did engage, but unfortunately, the fears were there for people and they just weren’t satisfied that it wasn’t going to be used for that purpose,’ she said.
The latest arson attack comes days after vacant buildings in Brittas, Co. Dublin were set alight.
Superintendent Gray would not comment on whether she believed the Leixlip attack involved outside elements. ‘I will say, we are linking in with other investigation teams around the country to follow that line,’ she said.
‘Leixlip is a lovely community area. Leixlip gardaí, and indeed all gardaí, work endlessly to ensure that the public feels safe,’ she added. ‘We are absolutely out there investigating this but not just investigating it, engaging with the public and reassuring them with our presence that we are there, we won’t tolerate it. It’s a serious criminal act.’
Meanwhile, as part of the investigation into the arson attack at the former pub in Ringsend on New Year’s Eve, four houses were searched under warrant yesterday morning in the Dublin area, gardaí
‘We were doing daily patrols’
‘Fiddling while the country burns’
said. Two men, in their 30s and 50s, and a woman in her 20s were arrested and items were seized including electronic devices. The woman was last night released without charge. The two men were being questioned at a Garda station in the Dublin region.
Elsewhere, the Minister for Finance has warned there is a real risk of someone being killed in an arson attack.
The Government was accused yesterday of doing ‘almost nothing’ in response to the escalation of attacks on properties. People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said there have been 26 such arson attacks in the last five years.
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Murphy said: ‘And what has been the response? Almost nothing. Nobody charged, fiddling while the country burns. We finally have three arrests this morning.’
Finance Minister Michael McGrath said that arson attacks are difficult to solve but that gardaí ‘will do everything they possibly can to solve them and to send files to the DPP and ultimately achieve conviction’.