Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald have expressed their sympathies to the family of a homeless man who died next to the Dáil.
The homeless man was found dead within a stone’s throw of Leinster House at 8:30 this morning.
The body of the man was found in a tent Leinster Lane, which is underneath the windows of TDs’ office in LH2000, the new office block beside Leinster House.
The man was in his 40s and is believed to have been from Northern Ireland and was not known to the homeless community.
He was the second homeless man found dead in Dublin city on Wednesday.
The deaths come six years after a homeless man, Johnathan Corrie, was tragically discovered on a doorstep on Molesworth Street, just 50 yards from the front gates of the Dáil.
Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald, raised the “distressing” issue with Taoiseach Micheál Martin Martin in the Convention Centre Dublin’s Dáil sitting.
She said: “We are hearing very distressing news of the death of a man who lived in a tent close to Leinster House this morning.
“I express my condolences to his family and friends.
“It is almost six years to the day of Jonathan Corrie’s death.
“I wanted to acknowledge the passing of this man.
“The scandal of street homelessness and rough sleeping must be dealt with and it needs to happen soon.”
Mr Martin added: “ I wish to share in the Deputy’s expression of sympathies to the family and friends of the homeless individual who passed away.”
Dublin city councillor and CEO of ICHH (Inner City Helping Homeless), Anthony Flynn, called on the Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, to intervene in light of the latest tragedies.
He said: “‘My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all of those who have died.
“These are tragic circumstances.
“Firstly let me state that these deaths were preventable.
“We have continuously warned of the increased trend in deaths in homeless services.
“This brings the number to over 55 this year so far.
“A serious contributory factor in these deaths is the refusal of the DRHE to accommodate those who are not habitually from the area
“Although we are in a level 5 lockdown homeless services are refusing people who are not from Dublin access to beds.
“I have called on the Minister previously to lift this ban, but this has fallen on deaf ears and has resulted in people dying on our streets.
“The Minister must use his executive powers today to lift this ban on and instruct the Director of homeless services to ensure that everyone who requires access to a bed gets that access.’’
