Are the people who sleep rough each night in Dublin, Cork and other cities invisible? In this tigerish economy of ours, trumpeted on all fronts by the State and many other institutions, and with pounds spilling out of the Exchequer basket, why can't we house our own?
We can afford to help the less fortunate from abroad, and we should be doing it, playing our part and not shirking from our international responsibilities.
Now that the refugee issue is focusing minds, attention is also turning to our own problem of the homeless.
One letting agency in Cork - the city I know best - is often approached by refugees, real or so-called, who can access all the aid facilities of the State readily, who know where to go and for whom organising the deposit on their bedsit or flat is no problem, although they have just arrived.
A deal is done between the social welfare services, the letting agency and the newcomers, the cheque is guaranteed to go to the company offering the apartment on time, every week. And other social services, like the dole are put in place.
I was in Millstreet when the Kosovars arrived as official refugees after their own country had been devastated in an ugly conflict.
It was wonderful to see how the young people took to the fresh air and the rolling pastures. Their faces were ruddied by the freshness of it all and after a week or two, the parents also began to relax a bit more. It was heartening to see. So why are Irish people, young and not so young, still sleeping rough? Is someone suggesting that we can't afford it?
It would take a hardy politician to propose as much. It seems to many people I have spoken to in recent times that one good offshore tax dodge would sort out the whole problem. The cost of a couple of tribunals, paid for by the taypayers, would surely pay the bill.
My attention was drawn to this issue after I heard about an initiative concerning the homeless in Cork. The city council has an agenda and it must be taken seriously.
Cork Corporation already has a fairly good idea of who is homeless in the city precincts each night and where they settle down with their bags and cardboard boxes.
For the first time, a sociological study of the situation is under way. A UCC sociology team is involved in the research.
Until now, the voluntary bodies and statutory agencies met once a month in Cork to discuss the homeless situation.
The various groups came together as a homeless forum and advised the city council of the position. This was regarded as a useful exercise, but there was no scientific side to their approach.
In this latest move, a scientific study of the issue has been commissioned and when it is completed next June, the corporation should have a complete overview of homelessness in the city.
This will be more than a street body. It will seek to understand the nature of the problem; define a profile of who is homeless and why, and take action under a programme which is being prepared.
Armed with better in-depth knowledge, the support agencies can then plan a better approach. Drink, drugs and family problems are part of the problem and these issues will also be examined.
It is proposed that a pilot project will concentrate on providing transition housing for the homeless. Its aim is to make it possible for them eventually to move on to standard housing.
The purpose, says Mr Stephen Kearney, the city council's housing officer, is to break the cycle of homelessness and to wipe out the problem in Cork altogether. He believes this can be done in part by giving people secure accommodation while they train for jobs and a new beginning.
The corporation spends £600,000 helping the homeless each year and in the not too distant future, that figure may rise to £1 million, Mr Kearney believes.
However, it is now realised that throwing money at the problem is not the answer; a more holistic approach is called for.