A third of "out-of-control children" are being cared for with the help of security staff in one of the largest health board areas in the State.
The Dublin Labour TD, Ms Roisin Shortall, said she considered it entirely inappropriate that children should be cared for in this manner in the Eastern Health Board area.
Ms Shortall also claimed the recruitment of agency staff on an ad-hoc basis to work with these children meant there was no satisfactory control over the people who might be employed.
"I've done some research on this in recent weeks and am satisfied there is no mechanism whereby an agency can get Garda clearance for the people on its books in the same way as the health board can, " she said.
Ms Shortall said the number of children for whom individual special care arrangements were in place in the region was 17 - three girls and 14 boys ranging in age from 11 to 18. The average cost of caring for them was around £2,000 a week. Four children are being cared for by childcare workers, seven by agency nurses and six by security staff.
"I was approached by a care worker and an agency nurse who work in this area and they expressed grave concern about the situation," said Ms Shortall, who is a member of the health board.
The board's programme manager of services for children and families, Ms Brid Clarke, rejected the suggestion that it could be employing people unfit to work with children. She said the board used a limited number of agencies which were aware of the board's requirements when recruiting staff to work in childcare and would be very careful about who they selected.
"The implication is that we are dealing with recruitment agencies that are not checking out their staff properly and I don't accept that," said chief executive of the EHB, Mr Pat McLoughlin.
If Ms Shortall had concerns about a particular situation she should inform him and he would investigate the matter fully.