Homeless figures have risen to a new record high, with over 12,400 people accessing emergency accommodation last month.
Latest figures from the Department of Housing show a total of 12,441 people were in emergency accommodation in May – including 3,699 children.
The figure is a rise of 182 on the previous month, during which the eviction ban was lifted.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O'Brien said he was disappointed with the development but said the increase is significantly less than the increases recorded over the past two months.
He said while that is to be welcomed, it is no consolation to those who find themselves in emergency accommodation.
The increases "speak to the challenge we have in this space," Mr O'Brien said.
The minister also said the figures show that the predictions of a tsunami of homelessness following the lifting of the eviction ban has not happened because of the measures the Government introduced.
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"The decision we took to end what was a temporary moratorium was a difficult one but was absolutely the correct one.
"I think if you look back at some of the commentary, particularly from the opposition at the time were speaking of a tsunami and much larger homeless numbers, that has not happened because we've been able to put in mitigation measures."
Mr O'Brien said about 200 homes have been purchased with tenants in-situ since January.
He said the scheme has no ceiling on it and that local authorities right across the country are buying homes and securing tenancies for people who have been given notice to quit.
The "scheme is working very well", he said.
Mr O’Brien also said last year saw more social homes built since 1975 and he expected the Government will go further this year.
However, he said they had to catch up on ten to 12 years of significant undersupply.
'Badly need to turn the corner' - Peter McVerry Trust
Depaul Chief Executive David Carroll described the figures as "disappointing" and said "an incredible amount of work is still needed alongside significant additional funding" was needed to get people out of temporary accommodation.
He said that "almost one in two people" in Depaul homeless services "are first time homeless which is a worrying figure".
The Peter McVerry Trust has said greater emphasis needed to be placed on the delivery of one-bedroom homes in order to reduce homelessness.
CEO Francis Doherty said there was a "need to turn the corner" and get the number of people in homelessness in "a downward trajectory".
The increase in homeless figures is as a result of bad decision making in the past, but it can be solved, said Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy with Focus Ireland.
Mr Allen said that even though 9,000 social homes were delivered last year, the benefit of that should be evident in this month's homeless figures but it is not.
"And we are not actually fairly distributing the new housing that's coming on stream, to make sure that people who have been homeless for the longest are actually benefitting from it," he added.
The Simon Communities said that "housing insecurity is affecting workers like never before" and the "lack of exits" mean people are becoming "stuck in homeless services indefinitely".
In a statement, the charity called on the Government "to deliver sustained funding for the homelessness sector that reflects the full cost of service provision".
Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson, Eoin Ó Broin, has criticised the Government for the increase in homeless figures, adding that they needed to take the advice of homeless service providers and his own party.
"We warned Darragh O'Brien, as did all of the homeless service providers, if he ended the ban on no fault evictions, without having an adequate emergency response in place, month-on-month, we were going to see an increase in homelessness."
Mr Ó Broin told RTÉ's Drivetime that the minister is still not taking the kinds of emergency measures that are required - such as emergency planning and procurement powers combined with new building technologies and vacant homes - to provide additional social and affordable homes beyond his own targets, specifically for people in emergency accommodation.
