President Mary McAleese has said the death of a man who had fallen asleep in a dumper truck highlighted the vulnerability of the homeless.
President McAleese said the incident where a homeless man was crushed to death by a refuse collection truck was a "terrible tragedy" which had left many people bereft.
She was speaking at the launch of a new housing project in Dublin yesterday.
Gardaí in Limerick are still awaiting confirmation from British police on the identity of a 36-year-old homeless man who died in the accident.
Originally from southern England, the unfortunate victim had been sleeping rough and was killed when a commercial bin he had taken refuge in was loaded on to the truck during a collection in Limerick city.
Workers at the Mr Binman waste recycling centre in Grange, Co Limerick, found his body last Monday.
The grim discovery was made when staff were sorting through rubbish deposited at the busy depot earlier that morning.
Efforts are still being made to contact the family of the 36-year-old who had been living rough in Ireland for the past number of years.
It's understood he had only arrived in Limerick last Thursday night from Cork where he had been living for a number of years.
Gardaí have sent fingerprint samples to their British counterparts in a bid to confirm the man's identity.
Supt Frank O'Brien, who is leading the investigation in Limerick, said they were still waiting to hear back from police in England that the man's family had been informed.
Gardaí here are satisfied they have established the man's identity. However, his name is not being released until they have received confirmation that all of his relatives in England have been contacted.
President McAleese made reference to the man's death when she opened the €10.4 million state-of-the art Sophia Housing Association project in Dublin's Cork Street.
The President said that the new centre "provided those who had been lost and marginalised with a place to feel content, secure and wanted- where lives could truly blossom".