A MAN WHO set fire to a car close to where his estranged wife and two children were sleeping has been jailed for four and half years.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims, pleaded guilty before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to one count of arson, one count of possession of a hatchet, and one count of breaching a protection order in respect of his ex-wife and children.

The man used an axe to damage the car, which was parked outside a house in the Limerick region, and then set the vehicle on fire using a can of petrol and a rag. 

The car belonged to a man whom the woman was in a relationship with at the time, the court heard.

A neighbour raised the alarm, and, having quickly responded, Gardai discovered the defendant nearby in his car asleep next to an axe.

“He had been disqualified from driving at the time as he was convicted of drink driving,” said sentencing judge Colin Day.

The man was subject to a barring order in respect of his family at the time, it was heard.

The car, including two child seats, was destroyed in the fire, causing €3,000 worth of damage.

In a victim impact statement, which was read in court on her behalf, the woman described how she remains afraid to leave her home, has trouble sleeping and is constantly afraid someone will break into her house.

“I can’t concentrate in work, I worry what will happen next,” the woman stated.

“The children’s bedroom is right over where (the arson) happened, and I am afraid of him (the defendant) and what he might try and do to me in the future.”

“I have trouble sleeping and have nightmares, I have the feeling someone is watching me,” the woman added.

The man’s barrister, junior counsel Yvonne Quinn, said the man was “jealous” of his then estranged wife as she was in another relationship at the time.

“He said he was sorry, emotionally overcome, and that he did it in a fit of rage,” Ms Quinn said.

“He said this (other) man was in his house with his children, he said he didn’t want to hurt anyone, he said he wanted to show her he was angry,” the barrister added.

Judge Daly said “arson” is a “very serious” criminal offence due to the “unpredictable nature” of fire.

He said he had to take into account the “risk of it spreading and causing serious harm, particularly to the occupants of the house, and others including members of the emergency services that responded to the scene”.

The judge described the defendant’s actions as “utterly reckless” and behaviour which risked the “lives of those inside the house”.

“The (defendant’s) wife and two daughters were asleep in the house at the time. He fled the scene but not very far and it appears he had been driving when he was disqualified.”

Judge Daly said that, while the arson attack occurred “in the context of a marriage breakdown”, this was “no excuse” for the defendant.

The judge said that, in mitigation, he took into consideration the man’s guilty plea, his “apology” to the victims, as well as his apparent “genuine remorse and regret”.

The judge said he also noted that the man “has a history of employment” and that he had “made a positive contribution to society”.

On the arson attack, Judge Daly imposed a four and a half year jail sentence, reduced from a headline sentence of six years, and back-dated it to 2024, when the man was arrested and had remained in custody on remand awaiting sentence.

The judge took into consideration the offences of possession of the axe and the breach of the barring order.