A boy aged under 17 was one of the homeless people who died in Dublin this year.
20 homeless people were confirmed to have died in the first four months of 2023 alone.
Dublin Region Homeless Executive to Aontu, Peadar Toibin released the data through a Freedom of Information request.
The data also confirmed four people aged between 20 and 29 also died.
Of the 20 homeless people who passed away, 18 were men and two were women.
However, the data does not confirm whether they died sleeping rough, in a hostel, or in emergency accommodation.
The figures have been described as “distressing and harrowing” by Deputy Toibin.
Toibin stated:
“Behind each one of these statistics is an individual and their family and friends. The ages at death are deeply concerning.”
“It’s chilling that over two-thirds of these deaths were of people younger than me,” he added.
“We know the causes of the deaths and what we need is urgent implementation of solutions. We need the Departments of Health, Justice, Children, and Education to work together on this. From DEIS schools to psychologists, social workers, and prison officers.
“It is a scandal that people are dying homeless in Ireland in 2023 at this rate,” he stressed.
