The bylaws, which will be voted on by councillors at a meeting this month, could put an end to on-street soup kitchens and food banks over health and safety concerns.
The proposal stems from a report, commissioned by Dublin City Council, which links such services to anti-social behaviour and public safety concerns, suggesting soup runs should be moved indoors.
However, Glenda Harrington, of Friends Helping Friends, believes lives will be put at risk if the ban goes ahead.
“They’ve tried every possible way to get rid of us, and now they’re going to try to do it through new laws,” she said.
“We are going to fight, and we’re not going to let it happen – we’re not going anywhere.
“If they had the services in place to replace me, I’d be happy to go. I don’t particularly want to be out in the freezing cold, but I am out there because I need to be.
“If they were doing their job, I wouldn’t be necessary, I wouldn’t be needed. But clearly there is not enough being done.
“If we’re gone, who is going to help them? Absolutely nobody, and they’re going to die,” she added.
Ms Harrington, a trained volunteer, said while most of her volunteers are not formally trained, you don’t need training to “show compassion”.
“My volunteers are kind, they show love and to do that shouldn’t require formal paperwork. It doesn’t make any sense,” she said.
Friends Helping Friends, who took to the streets near Trinity College on Friday and Saturday night, described it among “the hardest and most emotional nights” they’ve experienced in several years.
Volunteers brought hot food, coats, dry clothes and sleeping bags, noting that those accessing the service “could not stop shaking from the cold”.
“We were cleared out on Friday and Saturday, people came from everywhere,” Ms Harrington said.
“There were six people in one tent just cramming in together for body heat. Seeing people where they are in this cold is just heart-breaking.”
One gentleman arrived without socks and with soaking wet shoes, his feet sore and hurting from the cold.
The soup kitchen bylaws, which will soon be voted on, aim to end the practice of unregulated charity groups, like Friends Helping Friends, providing hot food to people in need.
This recommendation comes from the Taoiseach’s Taskforce in Dublin, which was published late last year.
Meanwhile, according to the Department of Housing’s monthly homeless report, more than 15,000 people accessed emergency accommodation in November last year.
Figures reached another record high, with 15,199 people accessing emergency services, including 4,658 children.
Of this, 10,925 were in Dublin alone – a 10pc year-on-year increase in the capital, according to the report.
However, these figures do not include those sleeping rough, in domestic abuse refuges, couch surfing or other forms of homelessness.
