The head of the Adoption Authority is insisting there is no upper age limit for those who want to adopt in Ireland.
It follows newspaper reports this morning which suggested the organisation was considering an upper age limit of 42.
Patricia Carey says the Adoption Authority considers health, life circumstance, and the ability of a person to parent when looking at applications - not specifically the age of the potential parent.
Ms Carey, says the authority may have to look at its communications message to avoid confusion on the issue.
She said: "There is international best practice in looking at age differentials, which is very different to looking at age limits.
"We don’t have any particular age limit in mind and certainly we will have to look at our communications in terms of what the public hears and what they know about it.
"But there is absolutely no legal age limit to assessment for adoption."