Concerns raised by the former Attorney General Seamus Woulfe (pictured) delayed the publication of a review into the prevalence of illegal adoptions, according to a report in The Irish Times.

The review, overseen by Marion Reynolds, a former deputy director of social services in Northern Ireland, was published this week, having been delivered to former Minister for Children Katherine Zappone in 2019.

It had been commissioned after it emerged that there had been 126 illegal or incorrect birth registrations at the former adoption society St Patrick’s Guild.

Data-protection issue

The review found that up to 20,000 files could contain markers potentially indicating an illegal or incorrect adoption, but it stopped short of recommending a full inquiry.

The Irish Times quoted sources as saying that the main concern delaying publication was that the review could have impinged on the work of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, which had just finished its investigation.

There was also a concern that certain parts of the report made recommendations outside its terms of reference, according to the newspaper, while a data-protection issue was also raised.

The paper quoted sources as saying that, as the mother and baby homes commission had now reported, Attorney General Paul Gallagher felt comfortable in publishing the Reynolds review.