Cabinet could approve a scoping inquiry, as soon as tomorrow, into Michael Shine who worked as a consultant at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, and was later found guilty of sexual assaults on nine boys.
It is understood that a memorandum is to be brought to Cabinet by the Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill which includes provisions for the scoping inquiry to run for 16 weeks, with a senior counsel to be appointed before Christmas.
This could ultimately lead to a full statutory inquiry, which is what victims groups have been campaigning for.
Shine worked as a senior registrar and later a consultant at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital between 1964 and 1995.
He was found guilty of assaults against nine boys at two trials in 2017 and 2019, before serving three years in prison.
The Taoiseach said Shine was "a vile paedophile, a prolific abuser who has brought pain and misery to many".
More than 200 people have settled civil claims against the Medical Missionaries of Mary religious order that oversaw the running of the hospital at that time.
If you have been affected by any issues raised in this story, visit: www.rte.ie/helplines.
