Twenty emergency beds will be made available in Dublin to people sleeping rough because of bitterly cold conditions on the streets, the Homeless Agency has said.
The agency, which was set up as part of the Government's strategy to combat homelessness, said there had been a "slight but significant increase" in the number of people sleeping rough who had sought emergency accommodation in the past week.
The agency, which is working with Dublin City Council to get the extra beds, confirmed the move followed the death of a young man on the streets in the past week.
The man, whose body was found in a basement under Merchant's Arch, near the Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin last Wednesday morning, is thought to have died of cardiac arrest brought on by a drug overdose. Gardaí in Pearse Street confirmed they received a call last Wednesday and officers attending the scene found the body of a young man, aged between 25 and 28.
A Garda spokesman said the man appeared to have been dead for some time and that toxicology reports were being sought.
Director of Homeless Agency Dervla Howey said that although the number of people sleeping rough in Dublin had been falling since 2002 more people had sought emergency beds in the past week when temperatures had fallen below freezing at night. She said a count taken in March indicated there were 185 people sleeping rough in Dublin.
"This figure shows a significant decrease since 2002 when 275 were counted. However, there are reports in the past few weeks of an increase in numbers seeking emergency beds."
She said the agency has been working with Dublin City Council "to get more emergency accommodation" and they hoped to open another 20 beds in the coming week as part of their winter strategy.
"We are also working with the Health Service Executive and accommodation providers to see what people who are in hostel- type accommodation need in the way of services to help them move on from that accommodation."
