Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has warned that issues sourcing accommodation for Ukrainian refugees could get worse before they get better.
It comes as the Government continues to consider doubling the €400 payment to those taking in Ukrainian refugees to €800.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Mr Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan met with Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien on Monday to discuss the ongoing shortages.
Read More: Government may double payment to Irish households providing accommodation to Ukrainian refugees
Up to 43 people were left without accommodation last weekend.
A new overnight centre was opened in Dublin Airport on Monday evening and provided shelter to 49 refugees on its first night.
While there will now be a fresh call by the Department of Housing and the local authorities to secure accommodation, Mr Varadkar said that he could not put an exact figure on how much accommodation could be secured in the coming days.
“Everyone across Government is working very hard to [secure accommodation],’ the Tánaiste said.
“There are offers of several thousands of units in the pipeline.
“Some of those will require refurbishment, others may not be suitable.
“We're going to do our very best at providing as much additional accommodation as we can in the weeks ahead.
“At the moment we have in the region of 1,500 to 2,000 Ukrainian and people from other parts of the world, arriving every week as asylum seekers or as beneficiaries for temporary protection. That is a very large number.”
Mr Varadkar said that while Ireland was “not going to turn anyone away”, he acknowledged that the country was in a “very difficult situation”.
He continued: “We need to be honest with people that this is likely to get worse before it gets better as the war in Ukraine is escalating.”
The Cabinet will decide in the next number of days whether the €400 payment will be increased.
Other measures also being examined by Government include whether or not hotels will stop providing food to refugees in hotels.
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