A homeless man is believed to have suffered "life-changing injuries" in an incident along the Grand Canal yesterday afternoon.
The man is understood to have been sitting in a tent when it was removed by a vehicle during works being carried out by Dublin City Council and Waterways Ireland.
He was hospitalised and is currently in critical condition in St Vincent's Hospital.
The incident took place at around lunchtime yesterday between midday and 1pm at Leeson Street.
A garda spokeswoman told Dublin Live: "Gardaí in Pearse Street were alerted to an incident that occurred yesterday afternoon, Tuesday 14th January, 2020 at Wilton Terrace, Dublin 2.
"A man (age unknown) was sleeping in his tent when it was being removed in an attempt to tidy the canal walk way. The man received injuries during this incident and was removed to St. Vincent's Hospital where he remains in serious condition but stable."
A Dublin Regional Homeless Executive spokeswoman told Dublin Live: "An incident occurred yesterday involving a homeless man on the Grand Canal during a process where Waterways Ireland were removing tents that were placed in a precarious and dangerous location.
"An individual was injured during the process and was taken to hospital. The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive have been engaging with the individual for some time and accommodation remains available to the individual. The Executive are currently liaising with the Hospital and every support is being provided, our thoughts are with the man.
"It should be noted that every action that is taken by state services is taken in the interest of health and safety of those individuals experiencing homelessness. The matter is currently being investigated by the Gardai and it is not intended to comment further on this case."
A Health and Safety Authority spokeswoman said: "The HSA was notified of the incident in the canal late on Tuesday night, and inspectors are carrying out a preliminary investigation."
