Dublin City Council is seeking an urgent meeting with the Environment Minister over its budget for homeless accommodation.

At a meeting of the council last night, it emerged it is facing a deficit of €18.5m.

Yesterday, Fianna Fáil's Group Leader on Dublin City Council, Councillor Paul McAuliffe, claimed the government had reneged on a funding commitment.

Councillors want the minister to release immediate funding promised by the government and agree to cover the shortfall which would have been part of its commitment.

Dick Brady, assistant chief executive at the council, said that while €55m was originally sought from the Department of the Environment, only €37 million was being allocated.

In a statement, the Department has said negotiations are still ongoing.

There are fears the shortfall will lead to cuts to some emergency accommodation for homeless people by the end of the year.

Mike Allen is director of advocacy for Focus Ireland. He told Newstalk Breakfast we need to move beyond simply having an emergency response.