Finally there will be a sample audit of all records held by the State, writes Conall Ó Fátharta.

The Government excluded an adoption agency from the mother-and-baby home inquiry despite being told almost two years ago that it had knowledge of “several hundred” illegal birth registrations.

As part of her trip to India for St Patrick’s Day, Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald is discussing the possibility of restarting adoptions from the country.