A man's been arrested outside the Dáil after threatening to set himself on fire.

The man - a foreign national - and aged in his thirties - doused himself with petrol from a two litre Coca Cola bottle on top of a white van on Kildare Street at about four o'clock this afternoon.

Gardai and Fire crews were quickly on the scene and sealed it off closing Kildare Street and Molesworth Street to traffic for a period.

Gardai talked the man down from the top of the van and arrested him.

One Garda at the scene said he was unsure what he was protesting about because he had "broken English".

Fire crews then washed down the van and the road and declared the incident over at about 4:30.

Among those who were on the street watching on as the incident unfolded were rugby stars Cian Healy and Jamie Heaslip.