The minister said the proposal is contained in a draft paper.Speaking on RTÉ's.
The Week in Politics, Mr O'Brien said he is not aware what the fee might be but that it will be a "nominal" amount.
"There is a draft paper at the moment that indicates for a limited number of people who may be in serviced accommodation by the State, that there may be some nominal fee paid," he said.
He continued, "This is not rent as we would ordinarily understand.
The minister stated that some recipients of Direct Provision and those Ukrainians with full-time jobs would be responsible for covering the cost.
Around 60,000 people have received "protection and shelter" this year, according to Minister O'Brien, and Ireland should be proud of that achievement.
He acknowledged that there is need for housing for individuals seeking asylum and announced that some modular housing will go online later this month, with more set to go online at the beginning of next year.
"We have a challenging two weeks ahead of us. Later this month, more [modular housing] will be online, and the amount of promised housing is also rising."
Matt Carthy of Sinn Féin questioned why the Irish Refugee Council's recommendations, which included using thousands of vacation homes, "hasn't been taken up."
In response, Minister O'Brien stated that the government is "already doing that."
Holiday residences are already in use, he declared. "The strategy is in motion. We are making use of all available options."
He added that the Government is actively "searching for assets" it can acquire while the effort to eliminate Direct Provision is ongoing in the background.
Additionally, he stated that before the end of the year, 3,000 houses have been identified by local authorities that can be utilised to shelter Ukrainian refugees.
Individuals Before Profit TD In order to address the "desperate" need for accommodations, Richard Boyd Barrett claimed there is "no joined-up" thinking across departments.
During a housing crisis, he claimed, the Office of Public Works has about 70 unoccupied buildings, therefore empty properties need to be the emphasis.
