Local authorities need to be get better at collecting and recording rent arrears according to a homeless charity.
New figures show social housing tenants owe almost €105 million in unpaid rents.
Of the €104 million owed to the State's 31 local authorities, Dublin City Council is worst-off with social housing tenants in the red for €38.5 million.
185 are behind by at least €20,000 - including 144 of Dublin City Council's tenants - according to The Irish Times.
Mike Allen from Focus Ireland has said the figures should be taken with a grain of salt;
"Even tenants who've left or died, or [are in] arrears for several years are added into the list to give us these sort of huge figures.
"I think local authorities need to get better at collecting rent, they need to be better at reporting rent.
"They haven't really addressed the question of how you... collect the rents, how you make the whole housing system work with sufficient resources and sufficient ingenuity.
"If any of the approved housing bodies had that level of rent arrears they'd be out of business".
Between January and July 101 tenancy warnings were issued by Dublin City Council, but there were just five orders of possession.
Solicitor Jason O'Sullivan said the COVID-19 ban on evictions, and a backlog in the courts, may have had an impact.
He said it can take councils longer to bring cases to court.
"There's more of an obligation on the local authority to engage with the tenant for non-payment of arrears, and sometimes to work with them".
€64 million is owed to the four local authorities in Dublin - compared to €300,000 for Westmeath and Monaghan County Councils.
