Updated at 15:11
The bodies of two homeless men in their forties have been discovered in separate locations in Dublin.
One man was found in Leinster Lane close to the Dáil in the early hours of this morning.
The second man was found on Longford street.
Gardaí say they are investigating all the circumstances surrounding their deaths, but they are not linked and not being treated as suspicious.
In the Dáil, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou Mc Donald says the scandal of street homelessness and rough sleeping needs to be dealt with.
Ms McDonald expressed her condolences to their families, adding that it was almost six years to the day since the death of Jonathan Corrie, a homeless man who died just meters away from the Dáil on Molesworth Street.
In the last week of October, five homeless people died in Ireland in a seven-day period.
Four bodies had been discovered in the capital, including a homeless mother, before the body of a man in his 60s was discovered on the Newtown Road in Wexford.
Speaking about the news today, homeless charity Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH) said that 2020 will see the highest number of deaths within homelessness in a calendar year and the year still is not over.
Emergency accommodation
They said one of the main issues in Dublin is people that are homeless but from other counties are being refused access to emergency accommodation.
The ICHH said it has been an ongoing problem this year, and we should not be in a position where emergency accommodation beds sit empty as people are forced to sleep rough, particularly in winter time.
Meanwhile, ICHH chief executive Anthony Flynn added: “My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all of those who have died. These are tragic circumstances.
“Firstly let me state that these deaths were preventable. We have continuously warned of the increased trend in deaths in homeless services.
“This brings the number to over 55 this year so far. A serious contributory factor in these deaths is the refusal of the DRHE to accommodate those who are not habitually from the area.”
He said although we are in a Level 5 lockdown homeless services are refusing people who are not from Dublin access to beds.
