Homeless agencies in Dublin have said they do not support the provision of tents to rough sleepers.
This follows concern expressed by some business groups about the current high levels of homelessness in the city centre and the ability of Dublin's economy to recover from lockdown.
The lockdown has seen an increase in the number of tents appearing in formerly busy shopping areas like Henry St and an increased visibility of homelessness.
This comes as the Dublin Region Homeless Executive reports between 70 and 100 spare beds in the system on different nights.
Ciaran King outreach manager with Dublin Simon says the higher visibility is due to the lack of day centres because of Covid-19.
The tents are appearing on main streets because people do not feel safe on side streets during the lockdown he says.
However Mr King says Dublin Simon does not believe tents are safe and wants to get people off the streets. It has outreach teams working every day from 8am to the early hours working with rough sleepers.
Derek Smith has been living in emergency accommodation with his partner and four children for five years and another child is due in four weeks.
He says the situation in the city is "terrible" with the number of homelessness. With the amount of people looking for housing he is worried that he will not get a permanent home.
Dublin continues to bear the brunt of the homeless crisis - it has 27% of the country's population but 69% of the emergency accommodation.
City business groups like Dublintown have been quoted as being worried about the long term effects of such a concentration especially with uncertainty about how much footfall will return.
