It is claimed that families in emergency accommodation may be declaring themselves homeless to skip the queue for the housing waiting list.
Head of the Government's housing agency Conor Skehan, told the Irish Times that people could be 'gaming the system' to gain prioritised access to social housing.
Mr Skehan who is finishing up in the role in the New Year, also said that there was no way to end homelessness.
He says that housing charities should be subject to 'performance targets' to justify their annual State funding.