A woman who was sleeping rough in Dublin city centre was found dead in a tent on Friday afternoon.
The woman, who was originally from Clondalkin, was known to homeless organisations. She was found on Pearse Street at about 12.30pm.
She had been sleeping in and living out of a tent.
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Gardaí said they had assisted emergency services at the scene of a “medical incident” on Pearse Street, Dublin 2, on Friday afternoon.
It is understood the deceased, who is believed to have been in her 30s, was brought to St James’s Hospital. She was subsequently pronounced dead.
Keira Gill, founder of homeless organisation A Lending Hand, a Dublin-based volunteer outreach group which has been operating for more than a decade, described the woman as “always being as happy as she could, being so polite and very grateful” for any help they gave her.
“Our condolences to all her family, friends and homeless family. We knew her well and she came to us, we were very fond of her and are heartbroken to hear she has passed away, her pals on the streets are devastated,” she said.
Ms Gill added that the Government needed to “seriously look at the reasons why a vulnerable homeless woman felt safer in a tent than the accommodation on offer. Putting groups of grown women in a room together is never going to work without the right on-site supports.”
Tributes were being paid on a GoFundMe page set up by family and friends to help her family with funeral costs.
The organiser said she “passed away suddenly”, leaving the family “lost. Every little help will go a long way [to] helping her mam get everything paid for and sorted out.”
The Health Service Executive was contacted for comment.
The most recent figures for the number of homeless people in the State have reached almost 17,000 people, including 5,321 children.