Thousands of people may come forward to sue the State and religious orders over forced and illegal adoptions following the settlement of a high-profile case in the High Court.

A Dublin couple who gave up their baby boy for adoption when they were teenagers have found him again, 36 years later.

A woman claims her newborn son was passed off as the biological child of another couple after she believed he had been sent for adoption 54 years ago, the High Court has heard.