Last night a fire broke out at a site in Coolock earmarked to house asylum seekers.
Gardaí are investigating the suspected arson attack on the former Crown Paints factory on the Malahide Road.
The fire is said to have started at 9pm Thursday night in the lobby area of the factory. Flames and thick black smoke could be seen billowing from behind a factory wall.
Gardaí and public order units arrived at the scene along with two Dublin Fire Brigade trucks who collectively contained the fire before any major damage was done.
In a statement, the fire brigade said that “The fire in a lobby area has been contained and we expect firefighting operations to be wound down soon.”
The incident follows a period of violence in Coolock this week as people protested the plans to house asylum seekers in the old Crown Paints factory.
The empty factory was being renovated to accommodate 550 International Protection Applicants (IPAs) and had become the focus of protests when construction equipment arrived at the scene early Monday morning.
Thirty people have been arrested relating to the unrest in Coolock. Of those thirty, nineteen have been charged and are before the courts.
In the last six years there have been 30 separate arson attacks on sites housing or believed to be housing IPAs.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that the violence in Coolock was sparked by serious “misinformation and disinformation” on social media. He added that the inaccurate commentary surrounding migrants was “all about creating fear, and fear leads to protest which is misinformed.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris described the scenes on Monday as “reprehensible” and said the misinformation being spread online was deliberately designed “to sow fear and division,”
