A homeless man has died in south Dublin.

He was discovered unresponsive in a tent near Gonzaga College in Ranelagh on Tuesday afternoon.

Inner City Helping Homeless say the man, in his late 50s, had been sleeping rough in a tent in the area for some time.

Gardaí are investigating the sudden death.

Emergency services were called and brought the man to St Vincent's Hospital in a serious condition.

He later passed away and gardaí have confirmed a file is being prepared for the Coroner's Court.

Inner City Helping Homeless CEO, Anthony Flynn, said: "We have warned all week of the continuous rise in rough sleeper numbers with little or no emergency contingency implementation.

"The cold weather initiative has already failed.

"This is an unacceptable situation and a death that could have been avoided with proper access to beds.

"Our calls continue to fall on deaf ears as promises to deliver 200 beds by December 18th is too late.

"The winter has hit hard now and this beds are essential, we need emergency intervention and an immediate response from the minister and Dublin Regional Homeless Executive."