The Minister for Further and Higher Education has said the "full rigours of the law" should be exercised to protect the tenancy rights of international students.
Simon Harris was responding to a report on RTÉ News that dozens of foreign English language students in Dublin have been left at risk of homelessness after being caught up in an illicit accommodation scheme.
Minister Harris said the reports are a cause for concern and his office will be discussing the issue with the Irish Council for International Students.
"I couldn't but be concerned to see the idea of places like Buck Whaley's, which it was called previously, now being used to accommodate people.
"I'm also very conscious of the fact that RTÉ has identified this as being an illicit arrangement, and there are laws in place to protect tenants - be they students or otherwise," he said.
Minister Harris added that he did not want to "pre-empt what needs to happen" but that "the full rigours of the laws and protections that are in place for renters need to be exercised."
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Minister Harris said: "It is extremely distressing and concerning."
He said he is "very clear" that there are laws in place in relation to rent and landlords and specific laws in relation to the tenancies board.
Mr Harris said he will make contact with the representative group for international students to make sure students are fully aware of all those legal protections.
"There is a reason we have laws in place for when something like this happens but it is an extremely distressing and concerning situation."
However, he warned against conflating the issue with the broader issue of student accommodation.
"We have made a number of changes for students for September so students can't be asked for more than one month's rent upfront. We have shortened the notice period if they have to leave."
He said 920 more student beds are under construction.
The minister added that he will be updating the next Cabinet Committee on Housing with a proposal he is working on, which would involve building more college owned accommodation in the future.
Separately, Mr Harris said a central contact point in Maynooth University has been set up to guide Ukrainians on how the university sector works.
"We have received more than 500 phone calls so far," he said.
Mr Harris said 227 Ukrainians students in Ireland have registered to do the Ukrainian version of the Leaving Cert and testing centres will be put in place in July to facilitate this.
He said it shows their "incredible resilience".
"We will use that as a way of allowing them access an entry into higher education in Ireland."
