A government review into illegal adoptions has advised against a full-scale inquiry into the issue.
The review said it was unlikely concrete proof that illegal adoptions took place would be found.
This independent review was set up in 2018 to sift through sample records of adoption agencies in a bid to discover whether the 151 identified incorrect adoptions at St Patrick's Guild were an isolated incident, or more widespread.
The results of that review, released today, suggest we may never know the true scale of the scandal.
After sampling around 1,500 records the review did not find the same markers that made the St Patrick's Guild files stand out.
While neither Tusla nor the Adoption Agency were able to find clear evidence of illegal birth registrations.
These usually took place where adoptive parents had their names put on birth certs, or the birth mother was omitted from the cert.
However, the review did identify potential markers or wording which could suggest more illegal adoptions were taking place elsewhere.
The review found further investigation was unlikely to provide concrete proof of that.
The issue has been referred to the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, Professor Conor O’Mahony, to consider the complicated next steps and how they might impact the adopted people now uncertain of who they truly are.
SD
