Groups working with the homeless have harshly criticised the dearth of services for elderly, homeless people with psychiatric problems.
The case of Thomas Corrigan was brought to the attention of the Homeless Agency by the director of the Trust organisation, Alice Leahy, earlier this month.
In a letter dated April 13th, Ms Leahy said that although she knew the case was being discussed "we find it impossible to understand why he appears to have no rights in this case and nowhere to go".
"It is clearly inappropriate for an elderly man with difficulties to be sleeping rough while huge sums of money are given to agencies to care for people who are homeless. I request your intervention on this case," writes Ms Leahy.
She said yesterday it was "heartbreaking and a disgrace" that there was nowhere suitable to accommodate elderly people with mental health problems.
Cllr Éibhlin Byrne, chairwoman of the National Council on Ageing and Older People, said she was aware of Mr Corrigan's case and "everybody is passing the buck because there is nowhere to put a geriatric man with psychiatric and behavioural problems".
Cllr Byrne, who is also involved in work with the homelessness sector, said that as a councillor she "could not stand over the homeless services we are offering".
"What are they going to achieve by sending him back to prison for a week? The problem is provision. There just aren't the services there for people like Tommy, and there are many, many more like him. And there will be more as the population ages. Is this what the Celtic Tiger is all about?"
Director of the Homeless Agency, Derbhaill Howley, said her staff were "working towards case management" of individual cases of elderly, homeless people. A number of difficult cases had "fallen through the gaps", and elderly people with mental health issues were particularly complex, she said.
Pat Doherty, director of the De Paul Trust which manages the Back Lane hostel where Mr Corrigan had been living before he was barred in January, said the trust was working closely with the HSE (Health Service Executive) and the Homeless Agency "to develop a structured plan which would enable us to integrate Tommy back into the project".
A spokesman for the HSE South Western Area said Mr Corrigan's case was being addressed as a priority.
