The head of Cork Penny Dinners says it's shameful that people are dying on the country's streets and says the government must be answerable for the crisis.
Caitriona Twomey was speaking after a new report by the Health Research Board found there were 84 deaths among people who were homeless in 2019.
The median age of the people who died was 40 and the majority of deaths were due to drug poisoning.
68 of those who died were men and 16 were women.
The Health Research Board says a study of 2020 data is underway and will be carried out for subsequent years.
Speaking to RedFM News, Caitriona Twomey says the figures are totally unacceptable:
"In the cold, dark winter nights, and in the bleakness of it - to have somebody on our streets is shameful. So alone - it must be the hardest way to go for anybody. So, I do think that one death is one too many. We all know what the causes are. And we know the solutions. The government need only ask. There's plenty of charities out there that will tell them, and I think the government should take on board that taskforces should come from people on the ground. People who know".
