An unnamed homeless girl has been found dead after sleeping in a tent on the streets of Dublin over the weekend, a homeless charity has confirmed.
A Lending Hand, which aims to assist those without permanent accommodation in the Irish capital and surrounding areas, revealed the news in a Facebook post on Sunday.
“A young girl has lost her life in a tent in Dublin,” the post read. “We have just been told it was yesterday that it happened, she took her chances in a tent and never made it through the night.
“Our fear for most of our pals on the streets. You will not see this on mainstream media.
“RIP. We hope you have the safest, warmest bed in heaven. We are so sorry you died the way you did,” the post added.
Freezing conditions have set in across the Republic of Ireland in recent days with a cold Arctic snap seeing temperatures drop as low as -7°C.
Some Irish media have drawn parallels between the tragic death and government policy that has seen hundreds of asylums seekers recently arriving in the country being moved from tents into more secure, warmer accommodation due to the adverse weather.
The Irish Examiner reported on Monday that alternative accommodation had been found at four different locations for 80 asylum seekers who were being housed in tents in Co Clare, ensuring they would be sheltered from the weather, which is expected to continue throughout this week.
The Liberal, a conservative online newspaper in Ireland, called it “outrageous” that while the government had done all it can to “move thousands of migrants into accommodation — people who for the most part have absolutely no connection to Ireland whatsoever — they’re being housed and our own are literally dying on the streets.”
The newspaper suggested the charity’s comment about this tragic death not being reported on mainstream media referred to the fact that “it doesn’t suit their narrative of pushing endless numbers of migrants into accommodation while Irish people perish and die sleeping homeless in the freezing cold weather.”
Hermann Kelly, the president of the Irish Freedom Party tweeted on Tuesday: 70,000 non-nationals have been housed (many in hotels) while over 10,000 Irish remain homeless, 3,000 of them children. It doesn’t have to be ‘Paddy Last.’”