Irish people hoping to adopt Romanian children will be disappointed by the recent Romanian ban on foreign adoptions. Estimates of the number of Romanian children in institutions vary: the EU puts it at 147,000 while the Romanian National Child Protection Agency puts it substantially lower at 62,500.

A European Parliament report on Romania's application for membership of the EU, published last September, states: "Most of these are neither orphans nor handicapped, and in 1997 the authorities embraced international adoption as an obvious and financially viable solution. Unfortunately, this practice continues to give rise to abuses."

A draft report in May, by Baroness Emma Nicholson, states bluntly there is evidence to show that many institutionalised children of all ages are submitted to "continuous physical and psychological cruelty (daily beating and assaults), food deprivation leading, in some cases, to starvation, sexual abuse, lack of or improper medical care and bizarre medical treatment practices or improper research".

Many of the children have been abandoned or "given to the state", frequently under improper measures, the report states. "Once abandoned, they can be swiftly drawn into a well-established, financially-led international adoption or trafficking system, leading in many cases to uncertain futures."

The draft report, recommending that the emergency ordinance be shelved and proposing a ban on international adoption for at least two years, will go to the European Parliament in September.

This ban may not necessarily be the best thing for children left in Romanian institutions indefinitely, according to the Irish organisation Parents of Adopted Romanian Children, which provides post-adoption support. Marian Connolly, its secretary, says she hopes children will not be left in institutions while the ink is drying on all these reports. "In the early days, there was no money involved, and we believe that was the correct way," she says.

The registrar of the Irish Adoption Board, David Wolfe, says 644 Romanian children were adopted by Irish people up to 1999 (the last date for which exact figures are available), with an average of 50 adoptions a year, bringing the total to date to almost 700. Adoptions already with the courts will be allowed to go through, but no new referrals are being made, he said.

Since the change of government in Romania last November, a new central committee for adoption had been set up and things were in flux, Mr Wolfe said. Previously the Adoption Board had supplied Irish people, who had been vetted and issued with a certificate of suitability, with a list of foundations accredited by the Romanian adoption committee.

The central committee placed children with these foundations, which then matched them with prospective parents. There were substantial costs involved, including travel, medical costs, cost of a video, passports and transport, Mr Wolfe said. In addition, each foundation had to support a childcare project in Romania and asked for a donation of up to £10,000 from people adopting children. Couples were entitled to an invoice from the foundation, detailing costs. The foundation was then obliged to supply information on how the donation was used.

The plight of Romania's institutionalised children was made public after the fall of communism in 1989 when images of starving children in appalling conditions were beamed around the world. Since then, tens of thousands of Romanian children have been adopted in the West but the numbers in institutionalised care have not declined significantly.

Emma Nicholson says the sums being offered for children are preventing change. She cited the example of 46 children recently "sold" legally to Italian families for $1.25 million. She said most adoptions were organised by corrupt non-governmental organisations. "The bulk of these I wouldn't trust with my money or my child," she said. However, Baroness Nicholson did praise the work of some Irish NGOs working with institutionalised children.

"We can't solve the problem of Romanian children by taking them away, it doesn't work, it clearly doesn't work. . . the institutions are still filling up," she said.

There are other ways of helping Romanian children living in squalid conditions which do not include international adoption, Baroness Nicholson claims. "International adoption is not for the sake of the child. It is better to sponsor a child to stay in its own country," she added.

Ms Connolly disputes this. "If Romania gets to the stage when it has no more children available for adoption, and these children are reunited with their parents or fostered, that will be a great day for Romania. Meanwhile, enormous damage is being done to children in these institutions."

Ms Connolly adopted her son 11 years ago, when he was two. She and other parents have given the children a normal family life. "People say adoption is selfish. We just want a child for our family, not to sponsor 50 children elsewhere."