Homeless agency to review death of Tony Dempsey in Dublin flat

A Dublin homeless agency is to conduct its own review into the recent killing of a man in a flat managed by the Peter McVerry Trust homeless charity.

A Garda investigation is currently underway into 28-year-old Tony Dempsey’s death, with the Peter McVerry Trust last week announcing it would conduct an internal review into the case.

The Irish Times reports that the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE), which co-ordinates State homeless services across the four Dublin local authorities, is now also to carry out an independent review of the matter, sources said.

Mr Dempsey was found dead in a flat in Kevin Barry House on Coleraine Street in Dublin’s north inner city on September 12th. Gardaí believe he died as a result of a violent assault, with his remains laying in the flat for around a week before the alarm was raised.

A woman who had previously been homeless had been housed in the property by the Peter McVerry Trust under its Housing First policy, which provides housing to rough sleepers or those in long term homeless services.

In recent months the tenancy had broken down, with the flat being used by a group of people to take drugs, leading local residents to make several complaints to Dublin City Council (DCC) about the property.

The Peter McVerry Trust will conduct an internal review into the case to establish what happened and identify potential lessons to be learned. It is understood the review is likely to be conducted by a senior executive in the homeless charity. The DRHE did not respond to queries about the scope of its own review.

A Garda spokesman on Tuesday said there had not been any arrests made over the killing, but investigations were ongoing.