A man set fire to himself outside Dáil Eireann today in protest at a recently announced Government scheme to compensate victims of sex abuse.
Forty-eight-year-old Mr Noel Kelly is in hospital this evening with burns to the legs after dousing himself in petrol and setting light to himself at around 3:30 pm today.
Gardaí smothered the fire and called the fire brigade and an ambulance.
Mr John Kelly, co-ordinator of Irish SOCA (Survivors of Child Abuse) and a personal friend of the injured man said Mr Noel Kelly wanted to draw attention to recent decisions over the compensation of victims of child abuse and decisions by the DPP on the prosecution of alleged sex-offenders.
After visiting the injured man in hospital this evening Mr John Kelly told ireland.comthat Mr Noel Kelly advocated that victims of sexual abuse should engage in more vehement forms of protest.
When Mr Noel Kelly set fire to himself today he carried a placard reading: "106 sex perverts allowed to roam free, 100 escape sex black list".
"Inflicting self-harm is no answer," said the co-ordinator of SOCA. "we can't be sending messages out that this sort of thing will get them heard."
A meeting of Irish SOCA will be held at Librty Hall at Liberty Hall on Saturday at 1.30 p.m.