A radical new approach to public inquiries will be adopted by the Government in the establishment of the Commission on Childhood Abuse on a statutory basis.
According to the latest draft of the legislation, expected to be brought before Government next week by the new Minister for Education, replacing Mr Martin, there will be two divisions to the commission, under the chairmanship of Ms Justice Mary Laffoy.
One will be primarily concerned with finding out the facts of what went on, while the other will listen to the victims describe their experiences of physical or sexual abuse, or both.
Considerable concern has been expressed by victims that the commission should have the powers necessary to enable it to investigate properly the abuse which went on in various institutions in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
At the same time, both they and the Government have acknowledged the need for the victims to be able to describe what happened to them in a sympathetic environment.
This two-strand approach will allow both sets of needs to be met.
The first strand (which will be called a committee) will have the power to subpoena witnesses, to request documents and eventually to make detailed findings, allocating responsibility where appropriate.
People appearing before it can be cross-examined, and will have the right to representation. The rights and powers of this committee will be similar to those of the Public Accounts Committee when it investigated the DIRT tax payments.
The second committee will allow the victims to describe what happened to them.
There will be no cross-examination, and the people against whom allegations will be made in this committee will not necessarily know about them.
Because the evidence will not be tested under cross-examination, there will be no specific findings, though the committee will be able to make general observations.
These observations will not reflect adversely on any individual or institution. Their role will have been examined in the investigating committee.
It will be open to victims to appear before both committees if they wish. However, if they appear before the fact-finding committee, they will face cross-examination.
There will be no overlap in membership between the two committees, and they will not communicate with each other, so that the information given to one cannot influence the findings of the other.
However, the observations of the victims' committee will be an important component in the final report.
While Ms Justice Laffoy will be the overall chairwoman of the commission, and will head the investigating committee, she will not participate in the day-to-day workings of the victims' committee, and she will not be made aware of its proceedings, so that they cannot influence her conclusions.