The Housing Minister is being accused of attempting to "normalise homelessness" after he admitted the crisis will be a challenge for the next few years.
Minister James Browne said housing output is not meeting demand, and the speed of population growth is adding to the crisis.
Latest figures show more than 17,500 people are registered as homeless across the country, a record high.
Paul Sheehan of Cork Simon said the Government has mechanisms at its disposal which could immediately help to alleviate the problem.
Sheehan told Newstalk: "It's almost like 'we're going to normalise homelessness'. The population growth was predicted... but in any case homelessness is not principally a population story.
"Framing the crisis around unforeseen population growth understates the policy levers that the Government has at its disposal and that's chiefly around the private rental market and no-fault evictions."
