A rough sleeper was found dead in the city centre of Dublin last night.
The news has prompted a homeless charity boss to criticise the country's 'broken' homeless service.
It is understood that the man was noticed by people passing by who then alerted police, reports DublinLive .
He was rushed to St James's Hospital, in the centre of Dublin, but was later pronounced dead.
Anthony Flynn, CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless, said more should be done to ensure the safety of the most vulnerable as the winter months come in.
He said: "My thoughts are with the man’s family at this tragic time. This is yet another unacceptable loss of like within a broken service. The system that is homelessness is continuing to fail out most vulnerable in society.
"Enough is not being done to implement enough safe and secure accommodation for those who require it. We have a homelessness epidemic with on average 160 people sleeping rough every night, resulting in deaths in our streets.
"This can’t become normal or acceptable. The Minister must activate the cold winter initiative immediately and insure beds are available for all who want to access.”
Gardai have confirmed a post mortem will take place and determine the course of investigation.
A garda spokesman said: "Gardaí are investigating the sudden death of a man (late 30s) who passed away in St. James Hospital at 8am this morning, Sunday 20th October, 2019.
"Gardaí were alerted to the incident by passing pedestrians who observed the man unconscious at Foster Place at approximately 7am. He was removed to St. James Hospital where he passed away.
"A post mortem will be conducted which will determine the course of the investigation."