Asylum seekers who had been living in tents on Mount Street in Dublin were subjected to assault and racial abuse, according to the Chief Executive of the Irish Refugee Council.
However, speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Nick Henderson said the Irish Refugee Council has criticised this type of accommodation in the past.
"There's several locations that are already using those tents. One in Dublin and we've visited those tents - large army style tents - that are slightly off the ground. I think there's a heater in them and then there's sort of almost like cot beds that the person would sleep on."
He said this accommodation would be better than the situation on Mount Street.
It is good that there is one location where supports can be plugged into, he said, but tented accommodation is never ideal.
Mr Henderson said there are around 1,800 people sleeping rough in Dublin and these people also need to be accommodated.
Mount Street conditions deteriorated
Olivia Headon, a volunteer at the site, said there had been mixed reactions among those who were told to move on today.
"A lot of people really wanted to go, this is what they've been hoping for - a safe bed, a place with showers, with meals," she told RTÉ News.
"And they didn't mind where that would be."
Ms Headon said others were concerned about where they were going and if they would be moved on again.
She said they were also concerned about being away from the networks they had built in the city centre where they have had access to healthcare or mental health supports.
"Underlying it all was great anxiety about where they're going to be sent," she said, including whether they might be sent back to the UK and onto Rwanda.
She said conditions at Mount Street had deteriorated as the encampment grew in recent weeks
"The conditions are quite shocking when you have over 200 people living without access to a toilet and any other appropriate sanitation," she said.
"There's not even running water there. It's going to become a public health health risk.
"Also the rubbish, the rain. As a volunteer group, we've been giving tarpaulins to try and cover the tents that they'd been able to access through homeless services to try and make them a little bit more waterproof, and also ground mats as well.
"But it normally wasn't enough so people were just wet and cold all the time, which means they were also sick with chest infections."
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'Unlivable' conditions
The co-founder of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland described conditions on Mount Street as "unlivable".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Lucky Khambule said the people who had been living there were "dependent on volunteers".
Mr Khambule described the standard of new accommodation for the men as "hopeful' but said he was concerned that no one knew where they were being moved to or specifics about the new site.
The conditions at emergency accommodation at Crooksling in Co Dublin have improved dramatically since a number of international protection applicants were moved there earlier this year, he added.
Mr Khambule said he hoped there was a Government plan to house more people as they arrived.
"Otherwise it will be up to the volunteers to help these people," he said.
Read more: People being moved amid 'very challenging situation'
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'Untenable' situation
The founder and chairman of Tiglin, which operates a homeless service called the Lighthouse in Dublin city centre near Mount Street, has said the situation had become "untenable".
Also speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Aubrey McCarthy said the number of tents on the streets had doubled over the weekend.
He said that last night, there were 500 people queuing for food and other supplies in the Lighthouse.
Mr McCarthy said they have just three toilets available but there are only another two portable toilets on Mount Street for people to use.
"It is a perfect storm, our housing crisis, the numbers coming in, I think we've been sort of caught off guard," he said.
A volunteer who has been working with men camping on Mount Street said there were mixed emotions among them about the move.
Oliva Headon, who is at Mount Street, said the lack of communication has led to worry and anxiety and the men do not know where they are going until they get on the bus.
Many of the men were concerned that they were being brought to the airport, she added.
Ms Headon said she believed it was a good thing that the men are to be accommodated in a safer place where they will have access to food and shelter.
