Taoiseach Leo Varadkar spoke out after an investigation by RTE found that Botox was being brought into Northern Ireland from Korea before being taken across the border and administered by unqualified staff.

Undercover researchers received products from a UK-based supplier who said he regularly transported large amounts of unlicensed Korean products to the Irish border area, where it would then be collected by people working in the industry across the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Varadkar revealed that his government is working on stricter regulations for aesthetic medicine, including Botox.

But the same is not true in Northern Ireland.

The Taoiseach said: “On the licensing system, it’s clear that we need a better system.

“I would definitely think that we need stronger licensing and stronger regulation of aesthetic medicine.

“And that’s in train and that legislation has been drafted, so that’s the plan.

“But I think there will always be black market for these things, unfortunately and there always have been.”

The SDLP’s Mark H Durkan welcomed the comments and “that the Irish Government are treating this issue with the seriousness it deserves”.

“The problems around lack of licensing and botched treatments are not confined to any one area, we are seeing these issues right across these islands and it’s important that we all take steps to keep the public safe,” the Foyle MLA continued.

“I would be concerned that if the Irish Government introduces this legislation and we do nothing, that we could see an increase in these treatments and those carrying them out without proper licensing on this side of the border.”

Mr Durkan had raised the issue in the Assembly last week, after comparing parts of the aesthetics industry here to the ‘Wild West’.

He called on Health Minister Robin Swann to introduce a licensing scheme and standardised qualifications for practitioners carrying out non-surgical cosmetic procedures (NSCPs).

However, Mr Swann said there are “no active plans” to introduce such legislation, and said his department is “currently operating within a constrained budget and is required to make decisions in relation to the work that can be delivered within current resources”.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Durkan added: “While I acknowledge the pressures facing the Health Minister and his department I would urge him to look again at regulations around this, particularly given a completely different approach in the North and the South is very likely to prove problematic.

“This is not about persecuting people or creating red tape for those who take every precaution, but we must do everything we can to protect people.”

Botox is a registered brand name but has become a colloquial term for all products containing botulinum toxin.

While Botox is licensed for use in the Republic, RTE Investigates discovered many occasions of unlicensed use of such products.