Landlords have expressed "deep frustration" with delays they claim they are experiencing with the Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) system.
The Irish Property Owners' Association (IPOA) said its members are experiencing unacceptable delays and inefficiencies in receiving HAP payments from local authorities.
The IPOA said payment timelines continue to exceed the national average and this is reducing landlords’ ability to provide adequate housing services to some of society’s most vulnerable.
"The Department of Housing and Local Government has suggested that the HAP process takes, on average, 37 days to be paid to landlords," said Mary Conway, Chairperson of the IPOA.
"This figure is not rooted in reality and diminishes the issues landlords face when processing HAP tenants."
"Unfortunately, we receive calls regularly from property owners whose payments are taking over three months to be processed due to bureaucracy and poor communication by local authorities with respective landlords. It is deeply frustrating."
The IPOA added that landlords have no issue with HAP tenants and the issue is with the "systemic and bureaucratic obstacles within the HAP system".
"It is evident that the Government is aware of the serious inefficiencies within local authorities and is unwilling to address delays caused by the HAP application process," said Ms Conway.
"Unfortunately, the lack of Government action is ultimately having the biggest impact on members of society who are approved to receive HAP but struggle to find accommodation."
"It is imperative that the Government take immediate action to address and reduce the delays in the HAP process."
In a statement, the Department of Housing said the administration of the HAP scheme is a matter for the relevant local authority and HAP application processing times may vary across local authorities.
"If there are delays at the processing stage within a local authority, payment to the landlord will be backdated to the date on which a complete and valid application form was received by the local authority," it added.
"The landlord is therefore not penalised for any delay."
It confirmed that the latest data available for HAP processing times up to end of the third quarter of last year shows that the average processing time across local authorities is 37 days.
"However, it is acknowledged that HAP application processing times do vary across local authorities," it stated.
It added that it is expected that the introduction of a new online application portal at the start of the month for tenants and landlords will create efficiencies.
"The Department and local authorities are aware of the importance of minimising HAP processing times and the critical need to keep this under review at a local level, in order to ensure times are minimised to the greatest extent possible," it concluded.
