The government is being asked to increase the rent supplement to prevent more families losing their homes.
New figures show the number of children sleeping in emergency accommodation is on the increase, with 60 more children made homeless in the last few weeks.
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) says the number of children sleeping in hotels and hostels has increased from 680 in October to 741 in November.
The latest statistics have been revealed just days after the government unveiled plans to build 35,000 new social-housing units with a new housing-assistance payment to be made available to 75,000 households over the next six years.
The Irish Interdependent says that over the past year, the majority of families who contacted South Dublin, Fingal and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councils in a housing crisis situation were previously renting in the private sector.
It is believed that the current shortage of suitable housing and time constraints means many children and families end up in emergency accommodation for longer than six months.
In 2012, local authorities in Dublin are said to have spent €455,736 to house the homeless in hotels.
Last year, their expenditure on hotels almost trebled to €1,356,281, while the estimated cost for this year is in excess of €4.5m.
Catherine Maher is director of services at Focus Ireland. She says current arrangements are unsuitable for families.
