Convent due to house more than 80 refugees set on fire in Longford
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Emergency services attended the scene of a fire in Co Longford at a premises which had been due to house Ukrainian refugees.
It is understood about 80 Ukrainian refugees were to be housed in the convent in Lanesborough, although no official move-in date had been set.
Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Fine Gael councillor Colm Murray said the fire began by the front door of the building, and another fire was started in the back of the premises.
Both fires were put out "in a matter of minutes", and left no lasting damage to the property, he said.
No injuries have been reported.
Mr Murray said a meeting had taken place on Tuesday with local councillors, council staff and the building owner "with regard to the development and what his plans are and to raise the concerns that they in the community had".
The building owner had agreed to hold a drop-in day over the next couple of weeks for members of the community to look at the plans for the building and voice their concerns on the situation.
However, Cllr Murray feels this incident will not change these plans that had already been put in place to inform the community.
"None of us, none of the local authority members condone this type of behaviour, regardless of whether it's a small incident or a big incident. If that had gone very wrong last night, half the town of Lanesborough could have been burned," he said.
The convent, which is an adjoining building, is situated in the middle of the town.
Gardaí said a technical examination of the scene would take place.