Just over 24 hours after a man who had been sleeping rough was found dead in the very shadow of the country’s coven of power, the issue of national homelessness has been quite rightly branded a ‘national disgrace’.
A man died, cold and alone, just beyond the eaves of selfish luxury and corrupt opulence. As he passed away, a mere stone throw away from the Dáil gates, the merry go round of politician’s polka dancing around the subsidized bar went on unabated and completely unaware (and uncaring) of the human drama taking place yards away.
The man’s silent and lonely passing went unnoticed by Dáil dwellers, just as the daily plight of thousands of struggling families and individuals across the country remains overlooked and unseen by a tribe of individuals claiming expenses in the name of self-serving righteousness.
By last month’s official count, 168 people were found to be sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin alone. Compared to two years ago, the figure has increased two-fold.
The dead man’s body was transported to the city morgue, where it will probably remain unclaimed.
May his unjust death at least become the final nail on this Government’s coffin.