Homeless group says beds are available after claims of death on social media

The DRHE reminded the public there are beds currently available to any rough sleepers and urged anyone who has seen or was aware of anyone sleeping rough to contact them directly.

The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, which works to help the homeless, has reminded people beds are available for any rough sleepers after reports circulated on social media that a woman had died in a tent in recent days.

A Facebook post on Sunday evening from A Lending Hand, a group that provides assistance and organises food drives and soup runs for the homeless, claimed a young girl had “lost her life in a tent in Clondalkin, Dublin”.

The girl, the page claimed, had “took her chances in a tent and never made it through the night”.

However, gardaí told the Irish Examiner there had been no reports of any incident in Clondalkin on Saturday evening in relation to a tent.

In a statement, they said: “There are no incidents matching the provided description that can be located on our [Pulse] system at this time.” 

Furthermore, the DRHE said it was “unable to establish any details” regarding the alleged incident.

A spokesperson noted the organisation was “aware of reports circulating on social media that a young homeless woman died in a tent in recent days".

“We have been unable to establish any details regarding this matter. We will continue to investigate to establish facts.” 

The DRHE reminded the public there are beds currently available to any rough sleepers and urged anyone who has seen or was aware of anyone sleeping rough to contact them directly.

There is a ‘rough sleeper’ app available to alert them, the group noted.

The Facebook page that originally posted about the alleged death has since deleted it, "because the people who told us could not confirm it".

"We are so sorry for any confusion and upset caused, that was not our intention, our intentions are only to spread awareness on what is happening on the streets and we took the word of someone we trusted."

Sinn Féin's spokesperson for housing Eoin Ó Broin had referenced the claim while speaking before Tuesday's motion of confidence in Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien.

On Wednesday morning, he clarified the situation by remarking: "

"Yesterday on the floor of the Dáil, I made reference to a media report on the death of a young woman sleeping rough in my constituency. 

"Subsequently, the organisation that put the information in the public domain has withdrawn it, pending further investigation.

" As the Minister knows, the issue of the deaths of people experiencing homelessness is one I have been raising with him on a regular basis. I have always argued for the need for accurate and up-to-date information. I want to put on the record of the Dáil that the story as reported in some sections of the media has not been confirmed.

"I desperately hope the story is not true and I want to make that clear. I believe the organisation that put that information into the public domain did so in good faith and I raised it in a similar way but it is very important that we treat these matters with great accuracy and therefore, if and when further information becomes available I will comment on it then. I would urge anybody with information on this story to bring that to the attention of the Garda in Clondalkin."

Last month, another new homelessness record was reached, with figures showing 11,397 people were in emergency accommodation in October.

The figures showed 4,974 of those homeless in October were men, alongside 2,973 women and 3,480 children.