By Joleen Murphy
Adopted people face waiting times of up to 2 years and 9 months to seek information on their past from Tusla.
554 people are on the waiting list for its information and tracing service, which also helps people who lived in mother and baby homes.
The waiting times for general applications vary from 14 months in the South East - to 33 months in Dublin north-east.
Suzanne Connolly, the chief executive of Barnardos, says people should be able to trace their relatives much quicker.
"In Barnardos we are really concerned about these waiting times and they are not acceptable.
"We need to remember that it is a significant personal step usually for someone to contact Tusla's information and tracing service to find out details about their background.
"It is crucial when they make this step that the service is available to them in a timely manner as any significant delay can be highly stressful."
Tusla says it's aiming to cut these waiting lists by 10 per cent every year for the next three years.
