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Basically, you can forget about adopting from the British Isles and Western Europe, if you are looking for an infant, toddler, preschooler, or school age child that does not have extremely serious special needs. Very few children are ever available, even for domestic parents, and many people from those countries go to less developed nations to adopt, in the same way that Americans do.
The only children you will be able to adopt internationally, unless you have unusual connections, will be in the countries of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. There, you will find many children in need of homes, and many agencies will be happy to assist you, knowing that you will, indeed, be able to complete an adoption.
There are many reasons for the absence of children to adopt in the British Isles and Western Europe. One of the most important is that these countries are very prosperous, when compared with countries like Guatemala or Ethiopia. Very few people live in such dire poverty that they cannot support the children they bear. The children who ARE placed for adoption because of poverty, if any, will be snapped up rapidly by local infertile couples. There are far more domestic families than there are children placed for adoption because of poverty.
Another reason is that people in these countries tend to have a low birthrate. Contraception is available, people know about it, and most people don't judge a male's manliness by how many children he fathers. And in prosperous countries, people with good educations and jobs generally choose to limit their family size so that they have enough income to give their children various advantages. In many non-Western countries, however, it is not uncommon for a woman to have eight children by the time she is 30, because her husband won't allow the use of contraception, or for a young woman to be unaware of the basic facts of reproduction. In these countries, a family will sometimes have to place some of their children for adoption, because they have no education, must take only the most menial jobs, and can't support all of them.
Still another reason is the presence of a social safety net. Prosperous countries usually have mechanisms for taking care of the poor, so that they don't have to place their children with other families in order to meet their needs for food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Just as the U.S. has Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, Section 8 housing, and so on, the countries of the British Isles and Western Europe also provide for the unfortunate. Most poor countries don't have the resources to provide a social safety net for their many disadvantaged people.
Another reason for the lack of availability of children is that the British Isles and Western Europe, fortunately, have not experienced major wars or natural disasters in recent years. In many countries, one reason that children are available for adoption is that their parents -- as well as relatives who would normally take them in -- have been killed in wars, earthquakes, and other disasters, or have died of epidemics (including the AIDS epidemic). In the Western world, the biggest disasters, including those caused by terrorism, have taken the lives of a few parents, but virtually all the children were able to remain with the surviving spouse or with relatives
Still another reason relates to health services. The countries of the British Isles and Western Europe have excellent health care facilities, and medical care is available to most of their citizens. It is relatively rare for women to die in childbirth, leaving their children orphaned. And it is extremely rare for parents to place a child for adoption because he/she has a minor medical condition and they can't afford to have it corrected. In many countries in Africa and elsewhere, women do die in childbirth, leaving spouses who cannot care for their children. And in many countries, children are abandoned or placed for adoption because they have cleft palates, club feet, etc., and the parents can't afford the necessary medical care.
Superstitions about health also play a role in adoptions from some countries, but not in the British Isles or Western Europe. As an example, if a boy is born with an undescended testicle, a mother in Ireland will almost certainly realize that this problem won't affect fertility or manliness, and can be corrected easily. On the other hand, I know of a boy who was abandoned in China because of an undescended testicle. Likewise, if a child has a visible birthmark, such as a port wine stain, or an extra finger, a family in some foreign countries will view him/her as "unlucky" or "marked by the Devil". In the West, families will often pursue simple medical treatment, such as laser lightening of the birthmark or removal of the extra digit.
In the Western world, the stigma associated with unmarried parenthood is decreasing, and more options are available for singles who become pregnant. It used to be, in the U.S., the British Isles, and Western Europe, that it was a huge scandal if a young woman from a good family got pregnant outside of marriage. Such a woman was rushed off to a maternity home, and (whatever her feelings on the subject), her baby was usually placed for adoption. Today, the number of such events is significantly reduced. First off, a lot of young Western women who are sexually active know about and use birth control. If they do get pregnant, they rarely go to maternity homes. They may abort, or they may decide to parent. They may still attend their regular schools, may still live with their families, may get jobs, etc. This has caused a big drop in the number of adoptable babies in the U.S., the British Isles, and Western Europe. In other countries, however, unmarried motherhood is still a huge scandal. Both the pregnant woman and her parents may be ostracised in their community. As a result, making an adoption plan is still common, whether or not abortion is an available option.
In the British Isles and Western Europe, adoption is considered acceptable among most people, though a few may feel uncomfortable with the notion of caring for a non-biological child. People talk openly of adopting, as they do in the U.S., if they are infertile or simply want another/a child. Many will even adopt children of another race. And they will usually raise their children to be fully aware of the fact that they joined their families through adoption. As a result, there are usually far more families willing to adopt than there are adoptable children. In many non-Western countries, however, adoption is still a shameful topic, and the vast majority of people wouldn't consider raising a child who was not "of their blood". In Russia, infertile married women still put pillows under their clothes to simulate pregnancy and talk about morning sickness, then go away, supposedly to a hospital, and return with a child of similar coloring, who is not told of his/her adoption. In Guatemala, the more affluent people, who are of European ancestry, will not adopt the many children who need homes in their country, because most come from the indigenous (Mayan) population and have dark skins and Indian features. In these countries, the only hope for adoptable children is a family in another country.
In addition, faced with a shortage of adoptable babies and high demand from domestic families, many countries make laws to ensure that foreigners don't get preferential treatment. Ireland, for example, requires that any foreigner wishing to adopt an Irish child reside in the country for at least a year. Since most Americans with homes and jobs can't afford to uproot themselves and live in Ireland for a year, they usually can't adopt from Ireland, even if they could meet other Irish requirements and find a birthmother willing to relinquish or a child in the state welfare system.
These are just some of the reasons for your inability to find information on adoption from Ireland. No American agency is going to try to work in Ireland, since it is basically a lost cause. American agencies want to go to countries where there are lots of adoptable children, and where it will not be a hardship for American families to comply with the adoption requirements.
I hope that, if you truly wish to adopt a child, you will consider looking at those countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America where ethical international adoption is possible. You will find that there are thousands upon thousands of children in need of homes, and that you can be matched with a child who will be a perfect addition to your family.
Sharon