Updated 22.25
A HOMELESS MAN in his 30s has died on a city centre street in Dublin.
The man was found at roughly 7.20am on Sunday morning outside Starbucks (formerly Bewley’s) on Westmoreland Street just south of the Liffey.
Gardaí are investigating the circumstances surrounding the body’s discovery.
The scene has been preserved for a technical examination.
TheJournal.ie spoke to Anthony Flynn from Inner City Helping Homeless who said that there is “no indication of foul play” in this case.
“We’ve just been on the scene for the last two hours [on Sunday morning], the body is still on the street, it’s very undignified,” Flynn said, adding that he had requested from gardaí that a tent be used to cover the body.
It’s not like this hasn’t been foreseen, we need to sort this out now.
How many more people need to die before something is done?
Flynn said he is keen to know how many beds were available in the system on Saturday night, and whether or not the dead man had either applied for a bed or been refused.
“We need Alan Kelly to come out of the traps quickly on this one,” he said.
We’re feeding 150 people a night at the moment, that’s nearly a 33% increase in two months, we just haven’t got enough in place to deal with it.
This needs drastic action now.
The Department of the Environment has been contacted for comment.
Reaction
Housing group Threshold said that there should be no general election before emergency legislation is passed to prevent ‘disproportionate’ rent increases from rendering more people homeless during winter.
“I believe that it would be a failure of duty on the part of the Government to go into an election without having taken the appropriate measures to deliver rent certainty,” Threshold chairperson Aideen Hayden said.
Based on the numbers seeking Threshold’s assistance, it is clear that up to 700 families are at risk of becoming homeless over the winter months due to excessive rent increases.
The latest death of a homeless person occurred just a five minute walk from a protest outside Leinster House last night by unofficial group March for the Homeless, with over 100 people in attendance.
The protest outside Leinster House last nightSource: Felix Williams
In a video posted on the group's Facebook page a volunteer spoke from Westmoreland Street in the wake of the dead man being found:
This is why we were sleeping outside the Dáil today and raising awareness about what's going on, and that's why we're standing outside Bewley's hotel and there's a dead person just lying there and I think we just need to highlight this. I can't believe this. I can't believe it.
Sinn Féin councillor Daithí Doolan expressed his "deep sympathy to the man's friends and family" in a statement.
This death is a human tragedy that demands political solutions. We must all redouble our efforts to ensure this never happens again.
We must see immediate action on Department of Environment funding for homeless services and building of social housing.
Gardaí wish to appeal for witnesses to contact Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 6669000, the Garda Confidential telephone line 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
Originally published 10.07am
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