Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said he wants to see a Covid inquiry plan published and officials appointed to the inquiry before the Dáil returns in September.
Speaking during a State visit to Kenya, the Fianna Fáil leader said he would like to see the measures introduced "before the autumn restart" of the Dáil in mid-September.
"It has to be set up before this Government comes to a conclusion, so I'd like it done before the autumn restart," Mr Martin said.
Asked what that timeline would involve, he told reporters he would like to have a "proposal published and people appointed" over summer, and to have an "independent panel" in place before October.
The Tánaiste also repeated his and Government's long-held view that any Covid inquiry in Ireland would not be as "adversarial" as the current inquiry in Britain, saying a "catch you out type of inquiry" will not help to inform the public or help with planning for potential future pandemics.
"I think the danger with the inquiry-type model [in Britain] is that you'll get people too cautious in a future crisis.
"The worst thing you could possibly have in the middle of a crisis is someone to say 'how is this decision going to look in two years time when there's an inquiry?'
"The worst thing you need in a crisis is people ticking boxes and protecting themselves. You’ve got to have decision makers. You’ve got to make decisions and go for it. There’s no time to do anything else," he said.
