Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said he has renegotiated more than 100 contracts and terminated 12 contracts for International Protection Accommodation Centres.
He told the Dáil this has resulted in savings of €50 million this year.
The minister was responding to the Sinn Féin Leader who raised the C&AG's report, which showed one accommodation centre operator overcharged the State by more than €7 million for VAT.
Mary Lou McDonald pointed out that this operator still has a contract.
She said the squandering of public money shows utter incompetence by Government.
"This is cowboy stuff, minister, and the big fear is that this is just the tip of the iceberg," Ms McDonald told the Dáil.
She added that the IPAS system had created a golden opportunity to make a fast buck courtesy of the taxpayer.
The Minister for Justice said the overpayment for VAT was brought to the attention of the Department of Justice by the operator themselves and the money has now been reconciled.
He said that the increase in the number of people seeking international protection here is driving the rise in expenditure in this area.
This has resulted in there being 324 IPAS accommodation centres in the country last year.
The minister admitted that pressures on the Government in the period after the pandemic saw them agree to contracts they would not enter into now.
Read more: State overpaid millions of euro to IPAS providers - report
