The Taoiseach said he wants to see the approach to accommodating refugees move from an emergency situation to one that is "more sustainable".
Simon Harris said that the Government has to balance the situation between providing accommodation for refugees from countries such as Ukraine, and making sure venues such as hotels or community centres are not taken out of use.
"I want to see us move from an emergency response in relation to migration and accommodation to a more sustainable approach. That does mean having to work through things."
Speaking after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Shannon Airport, Mr Harris said he was heartened that people in many communities have welcomed refugees.
"We do have to acknowledge the fact that there could be, for example, a hotel that is fully taken out of use that might only be now half-full or less than half-full in a town.
"Or a village that's saying, 'hang on, we need the hotel in terms of where we'll hold weddings or funeral receptions and Christenings'. It's a balanced approach we need to take to all of this and that does from time-to-time cause local tensions," Mr Harris said.
The Taoiseach said it was important for the Government to try to "bring together" accommodating refugees while also ensuring a community does not lose access to its facilities.
"Because these are human beings, they've fled a war, and we have to approach this with compassion. But we also have to be truthful about what we can do and what we can't do."
Mr Harris said added that lot of taxpayers' money is being spent on accommodation, but it must be spent in a "sustainable" manner.
"We can't have a situation where, as the numbers of Ukrainian people have fallen in Ireland - and they have fallen significantly - we're continuing to have an under-utilisation of accommodation in some areas and not capacity in other areas."
Communities welcoming people in is "a good thing" and serves to counteract the "antics of the far-right", according to Mr Harris.
"We will see over the summer months, dozens upon dozens of hotels and bed and breakfast facilities, that were out of use for the purpose they were intended, coming back into use and I think that that's a sign to the Irish people that we're beginning to have a system that works."
