New legislation has been published to streamline the operation of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse.
The commission, formerly chaired by Ms Justice Laffoy, and now chaired by Mr Justice Seán Ryan, is investigating allegations of abuse in residential institutions.
The Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, said the amendments proposed in the bill would allow the commission to carry out its inquiry within a more reasonable timeframe and cost than earlier envisaged.
The bill will remove the obligation to hold a full hearing into each and every allegation of abuse referred to it.
Instead, all 1,300 complainants will be interviewed by the commission's Investigation Committee, who will then call as many witnesses to a formal hearing as are required for the purposes of the inquiry.
