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Users can use an app to book a car. (File photo) Facebook/GoCarIreland

Go Car rental service targeted by arson attack in Dublin

The cars were set on fire last night.

Updated 12.12 pm 

TWO RENTAL CARS were set on fire in Dublin city last night in an apparent arson attack.

The two vehicles are part of the GoCar rental service and were torched at about 9pm yesterday evening.

The cars were parked next to each other at Malpas Street in south inner city Dublin when they were set on fire.

An Garda Síochána says that criminal damage to the vehicles is being investigated by gardaí at Kevin Street Garda Station.

GoCar says that the vehicles were worth about €15,000 each and the attacks is likely to have “many knock-on effects” for the car sharing business.

“As a small Irish business, an attack on two vehicles worth €15,000 each is obviously a huge disappointment for us, but it is an isolated incident and we’re reassured by how swiftly and thoroughly the gardai have been dealing with it,” said GoCar’s Jonathan Roche.

Roche compared GoCar to the DublinBikes rental scheme and said that similar concerns about the potential for widespread damage to bikes has been unfounded.

“We still have absolute confidence in the viability of car sharing in Dublin,” he said.

“Although it is very frustrating to suffer this attack as we’re a small Irish business with 6 full-time staff, and cannot afford these types of setbacks.”

Both of the burnt cars have been removed from the scene this morning.

It’s not the first time that the Go Car service has been targeted, three years ago another of its cars was destroyed in a similar incident.

The car-sharing service allows members join by paying a membership fee and renting the cars on an hourly basis. Go Cars are also allowed to park for free at Dublin City Council street parking spaces.

The service is also available in Cork City Centre.

Read: 10-year-old boy with special needs set on fire by another child in Texas >

Read: Boy walks into store with lighter and scooter, causes nearly €1 million in damage >

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
    Favourite Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Jan 27th 2018, 10:40 PM

    Here’s what I remember. January has been about 79 days long

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    Mute fibradshaw
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    Jan 27th 2018, 11:09 PM

    @Maria Hickey-Fagan:

    8
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    Mute David Dickson
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    Jan 28th 2018, 3:31 AM

    @fibradshaw:

    14
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jan 28th 2018, 2:13 PM

    @Maria Hickey-Fagan: fun fact: this January is actually longer than the entirety of 2017.

    5
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    Mute John Doe
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    Jan 27th 2018, 10:04 PM

    I hope Leo’s bank overcharge him… see if it takes over 10 yrs to get his money back, 3 or more of which are since the “errors” were discovered. (Still waiting btw)

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    Mute Patabake Kennedy
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    Jan 27th 2018, 10:12 PM

    My pocket remembers that it never handed out as much money for coal as it did, so far, this year.

    52
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    Mute Honeybee
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    Jan 27th 2018, 10:38 PM

    @Patabake Kennedy: You and me both Patacake, gas bill from 2nd Nov to15th January 478 euro, damn vat, standing charges and public service charges levy, it was freezing through Christmas, 100 euro in taxes for trying to stay warm.

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    Mute Patabake Kennedy
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    Jan 28th 2018, 1:19 AM

    @Honeybee: Ouch, and the rest of the winter to come. those auld levies don’t help either. Ah well, we are used to it by now, maybe the spring might bring a bit of relief.

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    Mute Drew P. Baulsach
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    Jan 28th 2018, 1:41 AM

    @Honeybee: its so cold I saw a politician with his hands in his own pocket!

    23
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    Mute David Dickson
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    Jan 28th 2018, 3:37 AM

    @Drew P. Baulsach: you are lucky to live to tell such a tale.

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jan 28th 2018, 2:25 PM

    @Honeybee: feeling your pain. ESB bill just in at €392 for two months because of crap storage heaters on top of my extortionate rent. Ah Leo’s republic of opportunities.

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    Mute Honeybee
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    Jan 28th 2018, 3:20 PM

    @Deborah Behan: Painful Deborah, now I know what my own electric bill will look like when it falls due in a fortnight, thank God the days are getting brighter and hopefully a little warmer so we can get a bit of respite from chronic charges for necessities,it’s bad enough trying to keep bills reasonable without the added taxes on bills , government profiting on people struggling and no amount of carbon taxes etc will make a blind bit of difference, doesn’t seem to matter which form of heating we have, it’s all too expensive, my elderly neighbours just ordered an oil fill, they said normally they would have lasted to February/March but weather has been so cold they have used it up.

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    Mute Batster
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    Jan 27th 2018, 9:23 PM

    Unfortunately all of it

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    Mute Maggie O'Connor
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    Jan 27th 2018, 10:02 PM

    9/10

    13
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jan 28th 2018, 2:27 PM

    @Maggie O’Connor: same. Goes to show you how broke I’ve been that I have to actually pay attention!

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    Mute Tony O'Regan
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    Jan 28th 2018, 8:09 AM

    So Leo is the only Irish person I know of who has a 40 year mortgage!

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    Mute Stipe Miocic
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    Jan 27th 2018, 11:56 PM

    7. Flipping Good

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jan 27th 2018, 10:13 PM

    8/10.

    11
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    Mute Siobhán Ni Mhurchú
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    Jan 27th 2018, 11:05 PM

    Baaaaad

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    Mute Teresa Ryan
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    Jan 28th 2018, 11:37 AM

    Bugger 9/10. I accidently hit the wrong on the Dolores O’Riordan question

    Damn.

    7
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