Last night's RTE Investigates show took a deep dive into the homelessness crisis in what proved to be a hard hitting and upsetting documentary.
The show which aired on Tuesday followed the stories of a number of rough sleepers and the difficulties they face particularly in the winter period.
A particularly shocking moment in the programme came when it was revealed there were 75 beds empty the night one of the homeless men contacted emergency accommodation services, but he was told he could not access a bed.
In the programme, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien offered his apologies and said this should not have happened.
Meanwhile the DRHE said they look at everybody on a case by case basis and use their maximum discretion. They also pointed out they “are not responsible for providing homeless accommodation for everybody in the country”.
One person who's story the show followed was Dan Orlovs a homeless 20-year-old.
At the age of 10 he moved to Ireland with his mother and at 15 years of age he became homeless. Dan and his mother became estranged and for the next four years he slept on friends’ couches, before ending up living on the streets of Dublin in July 2020.
He told the show “At the start – the first two to three weeks in Dublin – I wouldn’t beg,”
“Then, three weeks in, I said to myself: ‘I’m sleeping in a doorway. I’m not washing myself. It’s no harm.’ And then I started begging.”
Dan had smoked cannabis before, but he started smoking heroin for the first time soon after he began sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin, partly because it dulled the pain of an abscess in his mouth.
But taking drugs also helps him while away the days on the streets.
The show sparked a huge reaction from viewers who heaped praise on RTE for the investigation and handling of the heartbreaking stories.
Advocate Mick Finnegan wrote on social media: "Watching #RTEInvestigates is bringing back a lot of memories. I slept rough on the streets for years. It's one of the worst things you can experience. My first night on the streets I slept at the bottom of Grafton Street directly opposite of Trinity College.
Another viewer wrote: "You know when you can just tell that someone has a good soul. Feel terrible for Dan, he deserves a chance."
Another said: "20 year old boy homeless with no supports- turning to heroin to take his mind off the cold, this country is constantly, constantly failing someone ."
A fourth added: "We are failing humanity .. a 20 year old man with absolutely no support, being left with no other option than to turn to heroin to numb the pain is truly shocking."
