AUTHORITIES HAVE insisted there is sufficient accommodation for homeless people to escape cold weather despite the death of a man who was sleeping rough.
The body of Aladar Turtak from Estonia, who was in his mid-40s, was discovered yesterday shortly before midday near Dominick Street in Dublin’s north inner city. The cause of his death will not be confirmed until later today.
Temperatures in the capital fell to about 1.5 degrees early in the morning.
Independent councillor Christy Burke criticised homeless authorities for failing to ensure rough sleepers had sufficient shelter or accommodation.
“These men have been using the area since the summer. It is known as a . . . spot for rough sleepers. But little seems to have been done,” he said. “I will be asking the Homeless Agency for answers. If they were aware of this, why wasn’t more done? We are pumping millions [into] this sector but we don’t seem to be making any progress whatsoever.”
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive which has responsibility for organising homeless services said it had not been confirmed yet whether cold weather was a factor in the fatality.
“All homeless services in Dublin are implementing a cold weather response plan to ensure that the accommodation and support needs of individuals are met during cold weather conditions,” it said.
“There is sufficient emergency accommodation in place and we would encourage those who are in need to avail of homeless services,” the agency added.
Homeless charity Dublin Simon said its rough-sleeper team had met Mr Turtak just over a fortnight ago when he asked for a sleeping bag. It said the man appeared to have an address on the North Circular Road at the time but did not appear to be using the service.
Just last week the body of another middle-aged eastern European homeless man was discovered near Britain Quay in the south inner city. Exposure or hypothermia are unlikely to have been factors in his death, given that values on the night he died were about 10 degrees.
Mr Burke said extensive reform was needed regarding emergency accommodation services to avoid future deaths. He said many homeless people were forced to wait hours every day to find out whether they had a bed for the night.
The withdrawal of the night bus also meant it was more difficult to reach out to homeless people, Mr Burke said. The service was operated by Dublin City Council.
In response, the homeless executive said the need for the bus service had been removed with the introduction of a placing service which provides accommodation to individuals who turn up during the day or ring a free-phone number.
“The practice of providing accommodation on a one-night only basis concluded in mid-September, with accommodation being provided for up to seven days . . . people access accommodation themselves and do not require the night bus to bring them to their accommodation,” the executive said.
People in need of emergency accommodation can contact Dublin City Council’s placement service and 24-hour homeless helpline on 1800 707707 or the regional team on 01-872 0185.