The Minister for Justice has said a "root and branch transformation" had to take place in relation to the system of direct provision.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, Charlie Flanagan said he believed this would "lead to the abolition of the system" but conceded that he did not know when this would happen.
He said direct provision was temporary but was taking too long, adding that "alternative housing models" needed to be "urgently explored".
The Minister said there were "too many people in the system for too long a time".
He said the issue was "feeding into" the current negotiations for the programme for government.
Mr Flanagan said that as there were "7,700 people living in direct provision, the question of housing was fundamental. We don't have that number of houses or apartments available".
On Friday the Chair of the Expert Group on Direct Provision recommended the right to work for asylum seekers to be extended, for alternative housing models to house those seeking protection to be explored, and for compulsory training for those who run direct provision centres.
They were among a number of recommendations in a briefing document written by Dr Catherine Day.
A move away from emergency accommodation to house asylum seekers, clear guidance so all international protection applicants can open bank accounts, and Department of Transport involvement in working towards providing asylum seekers with access to driving licences were also recommended.
