The Housing Minister says he is 'very angry' at the incident in Dublin that left a homeless man with life-changing injuries.
On Tuesday afternoon, the man in his 30s was seriously injured while in his tent along the banks of the Grand Canal.
He was hurt by an industrial vehicle during works carried out by Dublin City Council and Waterways Ireland. Eoghan Murphy demanded a report into the attempted tent removal yesterday.
He expressed his sadness at the incident but defended his record on homelessness.
"That was a terrible accident that happened the other day," said Mr Murphy
"And, like I think the rest of the country, I was shocked when I heard about it. I was very angry and upset.
"And we wish that person every speedy recovery."
The Housing Minister continued: "We have too many people in emergency accommodation and we still have too many people sleeping rough at night.
"But we have brought in best international practice in housing first, to get people off the streets and into homes. And then get the care and support around them."
Eoghan Murphy
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach has said that “everyone feels shame at the housing crisis”.
“I’ve often said that I believe homelessness is a stain on our society, it’s a reflection of one of the things that is going wrong in a country where most things are going right,” he said.
“It’s totally unacceptable, it brings shame on us all quite frankly,” he said, adding that he finds it “at least a little bit reassuring that there are fewer homeless families and fewer homeless children than there were this time last year”.
The comments come as it was revealed today that a homeless woman in her 20s has died in a Dublin city hostel.
The death, which is being treated as a personal tragedy, occurred on Wednesday in the Phoenix Lodge hostel, sometimes referred to as Judge Darley’s, which provides 24-hour emergency accommodation for homeless people.
Also today, a picture of an elderly woman eating her dinner off a windowsill in Dublin has been viewed hundreds of times online.
