A number of homeless men who use Trust Ireland's shelter in Dublin's south inner city have spoken out following last week's horrific death of homeless man Kevin Fitzpatrick who was accidentally crushed to death in a Limerick bin lorry.

"It's a disgrace that a man died in a bin when there is supposed to be so much money in the country. The poor man probably felt safe in there for the night, " said John, who has been on the streets of Dublin since 1990.

Another homeless man, who said he was too embarrassed to give his name, added, "I have only been on the streets for about four months but I have slept in wheelie bins a few times. All of us on the streets know people sleeping in skips and wheelie bins. They are warm and you can close it over so nobody will see you. It's terrible what happened to him [Fitzpatrick]. Everybody living on the streets is talking about it and it should not have happened."

Little is known about Fitzpatrick, who was 36 and originally from Derbyshire, England. He had arrived in Limerick from Cork only a few days before he met his gruesome death. Investigating gardai believe Fitzpatrick was unwittingly emptied alive into a waste truck and killed by a compactor. He is thought to have lived in Dublin from 1997 to 2006 before moving to Cork in the past year, and then very recently moving on to Limerick for unknown reasons.

Gardai are still trying to locate Fitzpatrick's relatives in England, but news of his death shocked Trust Ireland director Alice Leahy. "I got the shivers when I first heard of that man dying in the skip in Limerick. When I heard his name I got a shock as his description fits that of a man who used to drop in to Trust.

When he was living in Dublin, he used to sleep rough all the time. He used to come in to us in an awful state. He would often arrive in his bare feet.

"He had some connection to Newry but he was originally from England. He has not been in to us for some time and we did not know where he had went to. . .

"We were concerned when we hadn't seen him but that is the nature of homelessness.

He never caused any harm when he came in here. All he ever needed was basic shelter and care. He was typical of the people who are homeless and will be homeless."

Meanwhile, Limerick City Council has hit back at criticism of its homeless services and said Fitzpatrick had not sought a bed in one of the city's homeless agencies. Rob Lowth, coordinator of the city's Homeless Person Centre, said, "He never presented himself to any of the homeless services in Limerick city. We had capacity if he had presented to us."