Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has insisted he has "never sought to make homelessness a party political issue".
It comes amid a political row that has broken out after a homeless man was injured in Dublin on Tuesday.
The man received the serious injuries when the tent he was sleeping in was being removed during a clean-up operation along the Grand Canal in the capital.
Responding to the news yesterday, the Taoiseach called on the Lord Mayor of Dublin - Fianna Fáil's Paul McAuliffe - to make a statement on the incident, claiming he was "politically accountable for Dublin City Council".
That has led to claims Mr Varadkar was trying to politicise the issue.
In comments quoted by the Irish Times, Mr McAuliffe - who has asked for a report into the incident - suggested it seemed the Taoiseach's "first thought was to play a political game".
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, meanwhile, described the Taoiseach's call as "extraordinary".
Taoiseach's response
Speaking during a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last night, Mr Varadkar said his "concern and sympathy" was with the man who was injured.
He said that it was essential an investigation was carried out to find out what happened, adding: "Obviously something went terribly wrong here, and we have to find out what went wrong."
Mr Varadkar said: "In terms of what the Lord Mayor had to say, I've never sought to make homelessness a party political issue
"It is a very complicated social issue that every country struggles with. I have never sought to make it a party political issue.
"I think - if anything - we have been on the receiving end of that rather than the perpetrators of it."
Meanwhile, former Lord Mayor of Dublin Nial Ring told Newstalk Breakfast this morning he was "taken aback" by what Leo Varadkar had to say.
Mr Ring said: "I think it was an absolutely appalling thing to do - and it was done purely for a party political game."
