Gardai investigating the burning of the home of a convicted paedophile in Kiltimagh, Co Mayo, at the weekend are appealing for witnesses.
A number of people have already been interviewed and gardai are particularly seeking details of movements in the area on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Mr Michael O'Shaughnessy (67), who had served three years of a five-year prison sentence, returned to live in his prefab home on learning that the council was unable to allocate any alternative accommodation to him.
He was not in the house when it was set on fire. He is being accommodated temporarily at Swinford District Hospital.
He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in 1994 following conviction on 60 charges of sexual assaults against young girls. During the review of his case in October, Mr O'Shaughnessy, who separated from his wife in 1981, accepted that his presence in Kiltimagh again would be likely to fuel public reaction. He said he had nowhere else to live but would prefer not to have to leave Mayo. Mr Padraig Hughes, Mayo county secretary, said yesterday:
"We are examining the housing situation with regard to this particular individual and we regard this as a serious case."
