Irish Examiner view: It's within our power to prevent homeless deaths

Sleeping in a doorway just yards from Cork Simon sheltered accommadation. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The warning that we can anticipate that more homeless people will die on the streets of Cork can hardly be ignored. It came from Cork Penny Dinners just days after the second homeless man to die in the city in under two weeks was buried.

There are many reasons people find themselves on the streets and none of us can be sure that we will not face those circumstances. 

We might imagine we will but then many of the 79 people who were either sleeping rough or in contact with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive and who died last year may have thought so too.

Homelessness may be a symptom of many things but it is primarily a consequence of a dysfunctional housing market, unaffordable rents, or policies that do not provide enough social housing units. 

Resolving these issues is well within our power but that we do not is a terrible indictment of us and our attitudes to those less fortunate than ourselves.