The Ombudsman for Children has said the Government is failing to put proper safeguards in place to keep children in Direct Provision safe.
A report from Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon published today said an investigation found that there were a number of faults in protecting children in Direct Provision.
An investigation in one centre found that staff members had not been vetted to work with children, despite assurances that this was the case.
There was also a failure to report a serious child protection concern, and parents were told - incorrectly - that their children could be removed by welfare services if they were not properly supervised.
One parent also raised concerns about overcrowding, a lack of safe play areas for children, the nutritional content of the food, and poor communication by centre management about facilities and how to make a complaint.
However, they were reluctant to take their complaint further for fear of reprisals.
In addition, there was no interpretive services at the centre which effectively gagged parents who may have wished to make a complaint.
The office undertook this own volition report because it found many people in Direct Provision were reluctant to complain.
Dr Niall Muldoon said he understood that improvements were planned but the fact remained that were still children and families living in unsuitable accommodation and that would not change for at least three years.
Read Ombudsman's report in full
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Muldoon said that a "culture of fear" was found in a Direct Provision centre his office investigated.
There were concerns that the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) was not picking up on this, and there were not sufficient quality assurance mechanisms in place, he added.
Dr Muldoon explained the investigation was launched after a parent made complaints about this particular centre, which were later withdrawn after the parent became nervous.
However the OOC continued with its investigation and uncovered a number of problems.
A decision was then made to examine other Direct Provision centres, he added.
Dr Muldoon said Direct Provision has been an outsourced service for over 20 years and the Department of Justice did not have sufficient mechanisms to check what was going on and independent inspections were not carried out.
He also said there have been "definite changes" coming forward from both IPAS and Tusla, who have agreed to carry out multi-disciplinary assessment of all applicants within 30 days of arrival.
This sort of assessment can create a whole different package of supports, he said.
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