A cross-party vigil to remember people who died during homelessness in recent years has been held outside Leinster House this evening.
TDs and Senators were joined by homeless services campaigner Fr Peter McVerry, families and representatives from Tiglin rehabilitation services.
Speaking at the vigil Fr McVerry said he was at the event not to remember the numbers of people who have died in homelessness, but to remember that there are real people behind these numbers.
Freedom of Information statistics released to the Aontú political party from the Dublin Region Homeless Executive show 236 deaths were notified to the service in the five years since 2018.
Aontú says overall more than 400 homeless people have died while in contact with homeless services in Dublin alone and it organised this event to remember those involved in what it said was a shocking tragedy unfolding on the streets.
Peadar Tóbin TD said documents released to him showed that 20 homeless people including a child and four young people in their 20s were among the deaths recorded in the early part of this year.
He told the vigil homeless people were being denied the help they needed.
Among those in attendance was John Flynn who lost his 34-year-old daughter Cherie to suicide, after she experienced homelessness in 2021.
"She had mental health issues," he explains.
"She had been in hospital in late 2019 and they were very good to her and she nearly pulled through but then she went back into homelessness and its very difficult to take medications when you're homeless."
He said her mental health then deteriorated again and the proper supports for treatment were not made available to her in late 2021.
Mr Flynn said five months after she was discharged from hospital after staying there for just a week, she took her own life.
Asked about what could have helped her, he said most people experiencing homelessness have mental health issues.
"That's why they're homeless in the first place, either through job loss or marital break up or childhood trauma," Mr Flynn said.
"They all suffer for some reason. That's why they end up out of homes. If the mental health services were there to treat them, I think it would help an awful lot of people and they wouldn't end up so destitute."
As a minute's silence was held to remember those who died, Mr Flynn said he would have liked to see more government TDs and senators out at the vigil and not just those from opposition parties.
Describing Cherie, Mr Flynn said: "She did hairdressing and a veterinary assistance course.
"She could be in society now, working, contributing towards society and but she didn't get the mental health supports she needed."
Fr McVerry said there were a number of complex reasons as to why people lost their lives during periods of homelessness.
He said: "Homelessness, living in hostels is miserable and mental health deteriorates to a sense of hopelessness and these are the conditions under which addiction is used to try to cope with situations that you find yourself in."
Fr McVerry said that as well as addressing housing, better addiction services were needed.
He said he did not think there was enough of an outcry now that official homeless numbers have risen past 12,000.
Also in attendance today was Independent TD Violet-Anne Wynne who said members of her own family had experienced homelessness.
Addressing the vigil she said nobody deserved to die on the streets and that homeless people should be given more respect.
As the summer approaches, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett appealed to the Government to do everything it could to stop people ending up in homelessness.
He said people in that situation often blamed themselves and were dehumanised, leading to a downward mental spiral.
