A charity working with homeless people has called for a redoubling of efforts to end the problem after a man was found dead in a Dublin laneway.
The man, who was in his mid-thirties, was discovered at approximately 7am on Friday by a passerby at Dawson Lane. An ambulance attended the scene but the man was declared dead.
It’s understood the man sustained injuries after he tripped and fell.
The ambulance crew notified gardaí who attended the scene and sealed it off.
A Garda spokeswoman described the man’s death as a “tragic incident”. The man has been identified by gardaí and his family has been notified.
No foul play is suspected and a file is being prepared for Dublin City Coroner.
The man’s body was found just minutes away from Molesworth St where the body of homeless man Jonathan Corrie (43) was discovered in a doorway near Leinster House on December 1st last year.
That incident led to a public outcry in relation to the homelessness crisis and the Government pledged to prioritise the matter. Some 271 additional emergency beds were provided in Dublin following the death of Mr Corrie.
The Peter McVerry Trust expressed “deep sadness” about the news and said the man had been engaging sporadically with groups working with homeless people since late last year.
“This tragic incident once again demonstrates the vulnerability of people who are experiencing homelessness and all agencies must redouble their efforts to tackle the issue head on,” trust chief executive Pat Doyle said.
“ As we approach winter, a time of even greater risks for those who are sleeping rough, we must do whatever it takes to get people into their own home as quickly as possible.”
The trust has asked people who see rough sleepers to report the locations on to www.homelessdublin.ie.
The Dublin Simon Community said it had this week counted 124 people bedding down in the city and this did not include an additional 50-60 people accessing a night cafe service each night.
“The scale of the problem is unprecedented and the situation is worse than December 2014, where rough sleeping figures were the highest since counts began,” the organisation said.
