An Independent TD has questioned where Ukrainians are going to go after 90 days of State accommodation.
Michael Healy Rae was speaking as the Government is considering reducing weekly welfare rates for new arrivals from Ukraine.
Proposals include slashing the rate from €220 per week to €38.80 - the same rate for new asylum seekers.
A 90-day limit on the provision of State accommodation is also set to be included.
Deputy Healy Rae told The Pat Kenny Show the changes are about harmonising supports.
"Why should we not have a uniformity, so that if a person seeking protection comes to this country that we shouldn't be disproportionately giving what I would call a better package or better deal to people coming than if they were to go to some other country," he said.
"At the end of the day, we have massive housing needs ourselves before there was ever a war in Ukraine.
"We can never forget that that is why those people are coming here, but we also then have a moral responsibility to take care of the people that are on our own housing lists".
90-day accomodation
Deputy Healy Rae has questioned how the State will provide accommodation for 90 days.
"Where is that accommodation going to come from?" he said.
"We're not building houses or providing accomodation in anything like the speed that we should be doing.
"If a person wants to develop accommodation today... the problem that I see is the planning process and the objections.
"We've seen what I would call the questionable behaviour of objectors, but it makes no sense to me that at a time of housing crisis that every obstacle that could be put in the way of people providing accommodation is put there.
"If you compare how difficult it is to get approval to develop anything here, versus any other part of the world, I really believe we'd be in the top five".
'Like Father Ted'
Deputy Healy Rae suggested asking questions around where people will be housed is "a bit like Father Ted".
"I think that it's time people came out and weren't afraid to say, 'I'm questioning this'," he said.
"All along what people were afraid of was, 'If I go saying anything they'll say I'm a racist'.
"It's a bit like Father Ted... It is a case of, 'Michael Healy Rae you're talking about this so God you're a racist now'.
"I have news for people: I'm not a racist - I don't care what skin colour or what language a person is talking, they're every bit as good and maybe better than you and me.
"My job as a public representative is to question things".
'The bucket can only hold so much'
Asked if such refugees would be better off not coming here, if they were to face homelessness after 90 days, Deputy Healy Rae said that is one of the topics that needs to be debated.
"If you're filling a bucket with water, the bucket can only hold so much," he said.
"When I see the competing demands between our own people that are on housing list here already... where are we going to house everybody?
"Unless there's a massive building programme in Ireland and we're going to provide accommodation quickly, which I don't see happening.
"When I ask these questions, and when I'm questioning what the Government are going to do, for goodness sake that doesn't mean that I think anything less of people coming here.
"I'm saying nothing bad or nasty against anybody; all I'm saying is, for God's sake, where are we going to put the people?" he added.
Deputy Healy Rae said there is a "question mark" over what happens after the 90-day period.
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