Two homeless cousins who had been living in tents in Dublin's Phoenix Park have had their belongings confiscated and removed from the area.
The pair were presented with a warning from the park superintendent, Margaret Gormley, last Saturday which asked them to remove their tent and items as soon as possible.
When they returned to their tents on Tuesday last they found their belongings had been removed along with their tent.
They presented to Capuchin day centre and Brother Kevin the next morning.
Reacting to the incident, Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH) described the treatment of the homeless pair as "disgusting".
"The lack of compassion and empathy shown by officials to fellow human beings is disgusting," said a statement released by the organisation.
"The fact that a leg of an Ironman Competition goes through the same area of the park this weekend would intimate an even more sickening reason for them being removed. Does it not look good for officials to have homeless people around during an event like this?"
It is believed up to 17 people are sleeping rough in Phoenix Park.
"This is an all time low from State services, the Office of Public Works should be working with services in order to support those who are forced into sleeping rough within the park," said ICHH CEO Anthony Flynn.
"These people are not there by choice, they are sleeping in the park because of lack of state supports. We are aware of up to 17 individuals sleeping rough in the Phoenix Park and are currently trying to engage to offer integrated services.
"The country is going through a national homeless crisis and this type of behaviour from the office of public works is definitely not helpful. I would urge the OPW to engage with us regarding rough sleepers so that interventions can be made."