Rough sleeper found dead in Dublin city centre

A man who was rough sleeping has been found dead in Dublin’s north inner city.

Homeless services in Dublin confirmed the body of a man in a sleeping bag, thought to be an Irish national in his 50s, was discovered by a member of the public before 9am on Friday, on Ryders Row, off Parnell Street.

A spokeswoman for Dublin Region Homeless Executive confirmed the death and expressed condolences on behalf the four Dublin local authorities to his family and friends.

She said while the man was not currently registered with the executive, he had been known to the city’s homeless services up until 2011. It was thought he had been living outside Dublin since then.

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Anthony Flynn, founder of Inner City Helping Homeless, said the man had been sleeping in the Ryders Row area for the past few nights.

Temperatures in the city fell to zero on Thursday night. This is the first death of a homeless individual in Dublin this year.

Mr Flynn said the death was a tragedy and “another life taken by the harsh reality of homelessness.”

“Last night’s weather conditions were extremely cold and no person should be in a position where they have to sleep rough,” Mr Flynn said.

“The question needs to be asked: how many beds were left empty and why this person felt the need to sleep rough?

“ The system is continuously failing.”

The latest official rough sleeper count, conducted on November 7th, 2017, found 184 people sleeping rough in Dublin, an increase of 30 per cent since the previous count in April.