The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has said it is clear a further inquiry is required into a number of issues relating to the Dr Michael Neary affair and that he is committed to a process that will be "fair and expeditious".
Mr Martin said this evening he is "considering a number of options" following a meeting this afternoon with a group representing women who were treated by the former consultant obstetrician at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda.
Mr Martin met with Patient Focus, which has asked him to establish a statutory public inquiry into Dr Neary's activities.
The doctor was struck off the medical register by the Medical Council in July after a three-year investigation. He was found guilty of malpractice after he unnecessarily removed the wombs of 10 women.
In a statement issued after the meeting, Mr Martin said he wished to reiterate his shock at the Medical Council's findings against Dr Neary.
He said the report was "a dreadful indictment of the treatment of the women concerned to have been both physically and emotionally scarred".
He said he had "listened carefully" to the views expressed by Patient Focus and that it was clear "that a further inquiry is required into a number of wider issues, e.g. how such practices were allowed continue for such a long period of time at the hospital".
The statement said the minister discussed with the group "the various formats and options that could be pursued in terms of an inquiry".
He said he was now "considering a number of options in relation to this issue" and would bring a detailed submission to Government in "the next number of weeks".
He will meet Patient Focus again in three weeks' time.