A man has been arrested by gardaí as part of an investigation into two instances of criminal damage by fire at a vacant property in Leixlip, Co Kildare, falsely rumoured to be earmarked for asylum seeker accommodation, earlier this year.
The man, in his 40s, was arrested on Tuesday morning, and is currently being held at a Garda station in Co Kildare under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
In the early hours of February 7th, the property in question, a bungalow on the Celbridge Road, was burned down following a previous instance of criminal damage at the building in late January.
At the time of the incident in February, the bungalow was being monitored by gardaí due to false rumours it was to be used to accommodate asylum seekers. The Department of Integration confirmed at the time that the rumours, circulated locally and online, were false.
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The 5,000 sq ft privately-owned residence, known as Honeywood, was sold in May 2022 for €1.06 million.
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