The Minister of State for Health and Children, Mr Frank Fahey, has warned that people should not deal with any adoption agency without going through the Adoption Board.

He was concerned "about prospective Irish adopters seeking the assistance of adoption agencies, facilitators, mediators, which are unregulated in this country, as the practice does contain potential for abuse."

The Minister, who is preparing legislation to deal with inter-state adoptions, said that "the possibility of foreign adoption organisations taking advantage of childless couples wishing to adopt abroad was made clear from last night's RTE documentary.

"An even more sinister possibility is that of mediators involving themselves in child trafficking under cover of inter-country adoption."

Ms Jan O'Sullivan (Lab, Limerick East), who raised the issue during Health Questions, asked the Minister if there was some way that foreign adoption agencies could be regulated while the legislation was being prepared, because it might not be possible to wait and some people could be vulnerable.

Mr Fahey said that the waiting time for this legislation would not be as long as it normally was for Bills going through the Oireachtas. The legislation would be ready in six to nine months.