Family of staff members at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin were given the Covid-19 vaccines as there were fears it would've been wasted.
It happened earlier this month.
The President of the facility has issued an apology, saying every effort was made to identify frontline workers.
The Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says the practice was not following the vaccine roll-out strategy and has called on the board for an investigation.
Reporter Stephanie Rohan explains that nine of the 16 people who were given the vaccine were over the age of 70.
"The Coombe Maternity Hospital in Dublin were vaccinating their staff on Friday and they had 1,100 doses.
"They were giving them to frontline staff, GPs, local community health workers etc.
"But it seems they had some vaccine left over.
"Among those 16 - 9 were over the age of 70, the others were of varying age, and it's understood two were actually the Master of the hospital's children, who do actually work in the hospital."
