Proposals to change how Ukrainian refugees are accommodated in Ireland have been described as not humane, practical or sensible.
Founder of Effective Aid Ukraine Tom McEnaney said the proposals are out of line with the general response of the Irish public towards people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Possible changes to the accommodation provided by the State were discussed at Cabinet yesterday and include a proposal that new arrivals would spend 90 days in dormitory-style accommodation, after which they would have to find a place to live.
This would mean that children in these facilities could receive tuition on site but not attend school.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Colm Ó Mongáin, Mr McEnaney said it does not make sense to move people out of emergency accommodation after three months to find their own place "when we all know that there is no accommodation available".
He said the proposals will force Ukrainian refugees into homelessness at a time when these services are "completely overburdened".
Read more: Cabinet rife with tension ahead of policy change
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Minister of State for Community Development and Integration Joe O'Brien said the Government is committed to the temporary protection directive, but added that the challenge was finding a sustainable medium-term plan.
There are now 98,000 Ukrainians in Ireland, of which 73,000 are in state-provided accommodation, and between 700 and 800 are arriving each week.
"Of all the European countries, we have the highest concentration of people in State-provided accommodation, with a heavy concentration of them in hotels," Mr O'Brien said.
He said a draft memo had been proposed, but he has not seen the specifics.
He added that different departments are discussing what is achievable but said the Government cannot continue to look for accommodation in the same manner as more people arrive.
"Our offering is open-ended, I suppose, is the difficulty with it as well. There is no time limit on it, and that is actually out of kilter with the rest of Europe as well."
"It is important to say, and I know the public probably do not realise this, but during the summer, at the end of the summer, we came very close to not having any accommodation of any kind to quite a large number of Ukrainians who had been staying here who had to move out of student accommodation that we were using temporarily".
Earlier, Dorás Chief Executive John Lannon said the Government appears to be more focused on how to limit the number of people coming to Ireland rather than addressing the lack of available accommodation
He said while there is no doubt that changes to Ireland's refugee policy are needed, but people need somewhere to live.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Mr Lannon said accommodation standards have already been lowered to the extent that some people are now living in tents.
He said accommodation is limited and temporary and the housing crisis means it is very difficult for people to find anywhere to live, adding that a coherent Europe wide policy was needed.
There are around 74,000 Ukrainians in State accommodation and currently an average of between 700 to 800 Ukrainians seek refuge in Ireland every week.
