It's understood the transaction took place in January and has cost the council €515,000.

The incident occurred at approximately 2am this morning in Mohill.

UPDATE: A man in his 20s has been charged and appeared before Roscommon District Court earlier today.

He's being questioned at a Garda station in Longford, where he can be held for up to 24 hours.

Meanwhile, his mother 37-year-old Ruth Purcell Healy appeared before a special sitting of Waterford District Court charged with his murder last night.

Gardaí were called to assist at the venue, and following enquiries and the examination of CCTV footage, were satisfied that no crime had taken place.

There has been an increasing number of fires started at buildings intended for or rumoured to be for asylum seeker accommodation, the most recent in Brittas in Dublin last weekend.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.