Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has insisted there is "no threat" to local communities from direct provision centres.
Mr Flanagan said that the Government had few alternative options for housing those whose applications for international protection are being processed.
Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, Mr Flanagan said it was important to ensure that debate around the issue was "fact-based" and that, of the 40 centres in 18 counties around the country, all are working "reasonably well".
Asked whether he would meet the residents of Oughterard in Co Galway, many of whom took part in two separate protests against an expected direct provision centre in their town, the minister said there would be consultation with the community once a decision was made.
He said: "I don't have any great choices here. Both myself and my minister of state David Stanton, who met a group from Oughterard during the week, will continue to engage once decisions are made.
"I can safely say there is no threat to local communities from direct provision."
Thousands of people took part in a march through the town yesterday, with organisers urging the minister to come to talk to them.
Asked if he plans to do so, Mr Flanagan said: "I am not sure what kind of a solution they are looking for. It seems to me the local community does not want a centre in the area. There are a number of mixed messages. I saw some of the placards.
"I am very concerned at situations where local opposition is being unfairly and unduly whipped up with anti-immigrant sentiment. Once a decision is made on Oughterard there will be local engagement.
"Of course we need to ensure that there is integration. Of course we need to ensure there are health service deliveries, that there are schools and sport and recreation and that there is full consultation with members of the local community."
The minister accepted that more needs to be done to ensure that the processing of applications for those seeking international protection is more efficient.
He said the system was "not perfect", but that he could not allow a situation where asylum seekers were left on the streets.
The #rtetwip panel discuss #Oughterard following yesterday's silent demonstration against a planned direct provision centre. #rtepolitics pic.twitter.com/06dW58sCM9
— The Week in Politics (@rtetwip) September 29, 2019
"We don't have a choice here. Ideally we would have a different situation but unfortunately we haven't because of a housing issue," the minister said.
"We are not in a position to provide houses to people seeking international protection here. We have a duty to provide board and shelter and lodgings and that is what is being asked of communities in Dublin and in the country."
Fianna Fáil's Justice Spokesperson Jim O'Callaghan said the minister should meet representatives of Oughterard.
He said Direct Provision centres were originally intended to house asylum seekers for a couple of weeks after their arrival in Ireland, but that current average waiting times for processing applications for international protection is 16 months.
Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall said there was a "very dangerous situation arising in Oughterard", which she said was a result of an "information gap" from the Department of Justice.
She said: "Locating a direct provision centre in an area has to be handled very carefully and there has to be clear information provided and assurances that that it is going to be operated properly."
Ms Shortall said there appears to be a "mix of views" in Oughterard.
"The situation has been allowed to fester to the point now that the ugly head of racism is very much emerging," she said.
Independent TD Denis Naughten said he did not believe that Galway West Independent TD Noel Grealish was stoking up fear when he made comments at a public meeting in Oughterard about different categories of migrants.
Asked if he had anything to apologise for, Mr Naughten said: "I think what Noel Grealish has flagged is a far broader debate here that needs to be addressed and this is the responsibility for the EU as a whole and not just Ireland.
"Why are people coming across the Sahara desert and risking their lives to come to Europe in the first place?
"The point I am making and the point Noel Grealish was making is that quite a lot of people who are seeking asylum here are seeking it because they are economic migrants."
Mr O'Callaghan also said the targeting of a mixed race couple who had featured in a Lidl advert for racist abuse was "shameful" and should be condemned.
He called for an update to the Incitement to Hatred Act.
The minister said the Government was currently reviewing the 1989 act.
"It is going out to public consultation shortly with the view to ensuring our legislation is robust," he said.
