The number of illegal adoptions in Ireland could be as many as 15,000.

It's an issue that Clare Daly, Independents4Change TD for Dublin Fingal, has been raising consistently in the Dáil over the last six years. She believes this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that there is "a certain irony" that it is now being discussed after last weekend's referendum result.

"We have the spectre of the appalling theft of people's identity being brought up, and the medical, personal and emotional implications. It's beyond horrific."

Clare says support needs to be put in place for those affected, and illegal adoption should be treated as a crime.

"There needs to be a dedicated unit of Gardai and social workers to actively trace these people, and we need to protect the records that are there."

Paul Redmond, author of The Adoption Machine, was born in Castlepollard Mother and Baby Home and adopted at 17 days old.

He says he knows dozens of people in these circumstances: "It's a traumatic event in one's life, and in a lot of cases people actually discover this when going through their parents' paperwork."

"It leaves adoptees with so many issues for the rest of their lives."

Paul says the situation can only be described as baby trafficking. "The important thing is to focus on the living survivors. They need action now."

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