Updated: 6.44pm
The Minister for Justice said those who set fire to a former pub in Ringsend "will be brought to justice".
Helen McEntee said the blaze in Ringsend in Dublin shortly before 2am on New Year's Eve was the result of a deliberate act, which has not yet been established.
In a statement released on Sunday evening, Ms McEntee said: "Arson is a very serious crime which carries heavy prison sentences."
The fire broke out in a disused pub on Thorncastle Street which had been earmarked to be used to house homeless families.
No one was injured in the fire, and the scene has been preserved for a forensic examination.
The Minister added no one has the right to cause damage to property, to cause fear or to threaten public order.
The incident is being investigated by gardaí, and Ms McEntee urged anyone with information to come forward.
Earlier this month, anti-immigrant protests were held at the building in response to false claims that it was to accommodate asylum seekers.
Persistent false rumours had been spread by anti-immigration activists that the building would house asylum seekers, and some social media accounts had called for the building to be set on fire.
The building had actually been taken over by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) to accommodate homeless families.
Earlier this month, the International Protection Accommodation Service and Department of Integration said they had “not received any proposal for this property and therefore has neither considered nor examined this property for use”.
It comes after a former hotel in Rosscahill, Co Galway was destroyed in a suspected arson attack earlier this month after being acquired for accommodation for asylum seekers.
