A man believed to have been homeless was found dead in a tent across the road from the Department of Health this week.
The body may have been lying in the cold for a day before the tragic discovery was made on Lad Lane in Dublin 2 on Monday morning.
It comes as a record 115 homeless deaths were recorded last year - more than double that of 2019.
Read more: Number of rough sleepers down by almost a third but figures 'still far too high'
It is believed the man may have died from a drug overdose and Sinn Fein's housing spokesman has called on the Health Department and Housing Department to do more to stop these needless deaths.
The Health Department is housed in the glitzy Miesian Plaza which is a stone's throw away from the laneway where the man's remains were found.
There have already been two instances of homeless men dying in the shadows of buildings that house our TDs.
In 2020, a man was found dead in a tent in Leinster Lane beside Leinster House, which houses the Dail, and in 2014 the body of homeless man Johnathon Corrie was discovered in a doorway on Molesworth Street which is also beside Leinster House.
Sinn Féin housing spokesman, Eoin Ó Broin, said that the latest tragic death proves that more needs to be done at the Department of Housing and Department of Health level.
He told Dublin Live: “First of all, my deepest condolences to the family of this man.
“But it is almost a year now since the first report from Dr Austin O’Carroll into the deaths of homeless people and the recommendations have largely not been implemented.
“What this latest tragedy shows is that we need urgent action or more such deaths shall occur in the future.
“Good work took place by both the Department of Health and the Department of Housing and the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DHRE) around ensuring that homeless people with higher vulnerability were protected during Covid.
“Well, if we can do it during Covid, we can do it during non-Covid times and really what we need is the political will to ensure the resources, the supports and crucially the accommodation are put in place.”
Dr Austin O’Carroll delivered an interim report to the Government on homeless deaths last year.
Dr O’Carroll recommended that deaths could be cut by tackling long-term homelessness.
He also said that improved mental health services for the homeless would help and he said that special work needed to be undertaken to prevent overdose-related deaths.
A well placed source told Dublin Live the emergency services received a call on Monday morning about a possible dead person in the lane.
Emergency services arrived at the scene at the Wilton Terrace end of Lad Lane where two workers from the homeless charity sector found them.
"The person was deceased", the source said. "There were no signs of trauma and their educated guess was he died of an overdose because he was foaming at the mouth.
"There was an empty bottle of methadone, which they didn't know was his, in the tent. They assume it was. And they assumed he was a drug user of some description."
The man was seen walking around Wilton Terrace on Saturday morning by nearby workers, Dublin Live understands, which means it is possible he was lying dead in the tent for a day before his body was found.
Dublin Live understands there was nothing on the man to identify him and that gardai are carrying out investigations at local homeless hostels and checking missing persons reports to find out who he is.
A source said: "There is a bit of difficulty in identifying him. There was no form of identification on his person so enquiries are being carried out to try and find out who he was.
"It is possible he could have been homeless. Until they can figure out who he is, I am sure they are checking the usual locations, [homeless] hostels and missing persons."
A garda spokesman told Dublin Live: "Gardaí are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body of a man in Lad Lane Upper, Dublin 2, the afternoon of Monday May 9, 2022. The body of the man was removed from the scene to Dublin City Mortuary for a post mortem. Enquiries are ongoing."
Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland previously told Dublin Live she was concerned about homelessness.
She said: "I am concerned, rents are rising, cost of living is rising. We need a ban on evictions. We saw how that worked during Covid in preventing homelessness.
"We also have to house Ukrainian refugees so the system is under pressure. It will be interesting to see what the Minister does. I think he needs to do more."
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