The American newspaper USA Today has withdrawn adoption advertisements from its Irish edition.
The move follows a complaint made to its distributors, Easons, by the Adoption Board. Easons says it was also contacted by the Garda about the advertisements.
A complaint was made to the Garda in February by the Natural Parents' Network of Ireland. The advertisements in USA Today appeared in its Marketplace Today columns. They are aimed at pregnant women and offer "loving homes" and couples who want to share "warmth, love and hearts" with babies.
One "adoption and surrogacy" agency, in an advertisement headed "A Sense of Humour" tells pregnant women that they can "put a smile on your face" by placing their babies with couples "ready for a new-born".
Some offer to pay medical and legal costs and expenses.
The adoption advertisements are flanked on one side by personal advertisements offering to put readers in touch with "beautiful Russian singles" and on the other side by an agency offering divorce services.
The advertisements were aimed at readers living in the United States, according to the newspaper's general manager in the United Kingdom, Mr Joseph Werlinich.
The Natural Parents' Network of Ireland complained about the advertisements to the Garda and the Adoption Board, saying they contravened Section 41 of the 1952 Adoption Act.
That Act allows only adoption societies registered in the State, and public bodies, to place advertisements offering to arrange adoptions.
A spokesman for Easons said the company received a letter from the Adoption Board pointing out that the advertisements contravened Irish law.
At about the same time, he said, the Garda in Irishtown, Dublin "spoke" to him about the advertisement.
Easons contacted USA Today to say the advertisements were illegal and they were immediately dropped from the Irish edition.
Mr Werlinich said the advertisements in his newspaper were aimed at American readers in the United States and that nobody had been aware they were illegal in Ireland.
As soon as they heard from Easons "we took them out", he said.
"Ireland is an important market for us. We have a lot of readership there and also a kind of kinship towards Ireland."
Sales of the newspaper in the Republic vary from 800-2,000 copies a day depending on the season. About 75 per cent of readers in Ireland are Americans.
Asked why the Natural Parents' Network had made a complaint about advertisements aimed at an American readership, a spokeswoman for the Network said: "It is possible that it could get into the hands of somebody, a relative or a doctor or a clergy person or a pregnant woman herself who might think well, since I was going to place my child for adoption, this way I could do it and get some money."
Such a person would inevitably regret the decision later on, she said.
She said the Network also intended to monitor other foreign newspapers and magazines for such advertisements.