By Denise O’Donoghue
The body of a homeless teenager was found inside a car in Dublin city earlier today.
His remains were found in an abandoned car off Parnell Street this afternoon.
It is understood the man, who was in his late teens and was known to homeless services, slept in the car last night and had recently been sleeping rough in the area.
Gardaí confirmed the remains were found at 2pm today and they are investigating the circumstances of his death.
"A post mortem is due to take place at a later date and the results will determine the course of the investigation," a spokesperson said, however foul play is not suspected.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the young man’s family. He has not been formally identified but is known to services and has been sleeping rough in the area," said ICHH CEO Anthony Flynn.
The crisis has not gone away through Covid-19, in fact it has worsened.
"On average 125 people are sleeping rough across the city on any given night, with many forced to take sleeping bags because of lack of bed availability.
Mr Flynn called for a "complete overhaul on the homeless service system".
"I not only call on the new Minister to initiate this but invite him to attend nightly outreach supports with our teams. No person should be offered a sleeping bag instead of a bed. It’s time we eradicated rough sleeping across this country."
