There are now a record 50,000 households on housing waiting lists across the State, Focus Ireland said yesterday.
The agency, which works to help people find a home, said this was the equivalent of 140,000 men, women and children waiting to be provided with permanent accommodation.
It urged the Government to provide more local authority homes for these people, as well as more quality accommodation for those who needed a roof over their head in an emergency situation.
Reacting to a report published in yesterday's edition of The Irish Times, which indicated €18 million was spent on providing bed- and-breakfast accommodation for homeless individuals and families in Dublin last year, the chief executive of Focus Ireland, Mr Declan Jones, said it showed the Government was failing to tackle the core issue of homelessness.
"It highlights the simple fact that not enough permanent housing is being provided so homeless people can move on from living in B&Bs. The Government is using B&Bs as a fire-fighting measure because of its failure to provide enough housing," he added.
Furthermore, he said research carried out by Focus Ireland over two years ago showed how unsuitable B&Bs are as emergency accommodation for homeless people.
"Families have complained to Focus Ireland about the low standard of some B&Bs but can be too scared to complain directly to landlords, fearing it could cause trouble for them or they might be asked to leave," he said.
A draft report carried out for the Homeless Agency on the amount being spent on B&Bs said landlords in Dublin were earning "supernormal profits" from providing such accommodation. One landlord grossed €1.4 million last year.