The Army is investigating how a South African doctor struck off the medical register was employed by the Department of Defence to attend up to 1,000 Irish soldiers stationed in Liberia.
Dr Wynne Lieberthal was recruited by the Defence Forces through a London-based agency for a one-year contract between 2004 and 2005 after he had been banned in South Africa for carrying out unnecessary surgical procedures.
A spokesman for the Defence Forces told ireland.comthat an investigation was under way and that the Army had contacted the recruitment agency in London and was awaiting a response.
He said the mission in Liberia had been informed of the situation, and that a confidential telephone hotline had been set up for soldiers who had been treated by Dr Lieberthal.
He said that Dr Lieberthal had not carried out any surgical procedures during his contract with the Irish troops.
Dr Lieberthal was suspended from Johannesburg Hospital in November 2002 following eight accusations of malpractice.
In 2004, he was struck off the medical register in South Africa after being found guilty on seven charges of unprofessional conduct.
Fine Gael's defence spokesman Billy Timmins said the matter revealed "an unacceptably lax approach" to Defence Force recruitment.
"In these days of instant access to information, a simple web search reveals a considerable amount about Dr Lieberthal," he said.