In the shadow of Killiney Hill, one of Dublin's wealthiest areas and a stone's throw away from mansions, owned by celebrities such as Bono and Enya, homeless man Craig Laven has been living in a tent.
"It's a beautiful place but I'd rather not be here I'd rather be in a house," he says.
"I'm not confident about surviving"
"With late September, October, November coming it's going to get cold. I actually get a bit emotional thinking about it because I have lung disease and a bad heart and I'm not confident about surviving."
Desperate for shelter Craig set up camp six weeks ago after making his way from Cork.
"It's embarrassing, people know when your sleeping in a tent that you're homeless"
Craig came to Ireland from Scotland eight years ago where he worked in construction but later became ill.
Craig had a massive heart attack earlier this year and also suffers with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease.
He receives a disability allowance but is not entitled to rent allowance.
"It's embarrassing, people know when your sleeping in a tent that you're homeless and it brings you down," Craig says.
Initially he did avail of homeless services in Cork and Dublin but he describes the conditions as unbearable.
"I got my bag I packed it and I walked out the door"
"In Cork I lived in Simon and I lived in St Vincent de Paul and they're dangerous places.
"I came up to Dublin and I stayed in one particular hostel and I handed my bag into the latch and I saw this guy taking things from the top of my bag and swallowing them.
"He was out of his head anyway on heroin and I realised that that bag was mine and those tablets he was swallowing were my heart tablets.
"Needless to say I got my bag I packed it and I walked out the door."
Local People Before Profit TD, Richard Boyd Barrett says he sees people in Craig's situation all the time.
"90% of what is coming through the door are absolutely tragic heartbreaking stories of people in dire housing situations from every imaginable background.
"People who are working but can't afford the rent people whose landlords are evicting them because they want to put up the rent.
"People who were actually deemed to be housed by the council but they are threatened by the loss of their accommodation.
"People who are disabled families and of course really extreme cases like Craig who we have seen sleeping on the beach."
Housing charities estimate that there are 100 people sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin every night.
The Simon Community says the number of people sleeping rough in Cork rose from 30 in 2011 to 264 in 2014.
Spokesperson for Homeless charity Focus Ireland John O'Hare says there are steps that can be taken immediately to help alleviate the problem.
"On the cold weather approaching what's really important is that there are enough beds in the system but what's really important then is that people can exit those beds.
"So one of the things that we have been pushing strongly on is that rent supplement is not sufficient for people to afford the rent.
"So what's happening is that even people that have a home are losing it because they can't afford the rents so the Government need to intervene there as quickly as possible.
"Somebody on a low wage just can't afford the rent that's been charged in Dublin," Mr O'Hare says.
"I haven't told my employers I'm afraid to tell them"
44-year-old Ian Cleary from Dublin has been homeless for the past six months, while trying to hold down a full time job in a bakery.
Ian gets the minimum wage of €8.65 an hour and is not entitled to rent allowance.
"I have a six-year-old girl and I don't get to see her because I've no accommodation, which is fair enough I've no security. It's hell on earth to be honest with you."
Ian says he needs a place where he can bring his daughter, but he says he's unable to afford the rising cost of rent in the city.
"I'm barely surviving to be honest with you"
Although he avails of homeless services he sometimes ends up sleeping on the streets.
"I have to go out to Dublin South County Council every morning for 8.30am and they would assign me a hostel.
"But if I'm not in on time they give the bed back to the freephone number and when I ring up the bed could be gone and I'm given a sleeping bag to sleep on the street.
"You're getting shook all night every night asking you are you looking for drugs," Ian says.
"You don't know whether you're gonna get mugged, get assaulted, or robbed and you don't get a nights sleep to be honest with you.
"I'm barely surviving to be honest with you without rent allowance it's kind of tough because by the time you pay rent allowance, pay your electricity, you're not left with anything but I like the job it's good for my sanity."
