One in Four, the group representing victims of clerical sexual abuse, has described a meeting with the Minister for Justice over allegations of clerical sexual abuse as "very encouraging".
This afternoon's meeting follows last week's
Prime Time
programme about sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Dublin.
Speaking to ireland.comthis evening, Mr Paul McSharry, a spokesman for the One in Four organisation, said no firm decisions had been made yet, but they were lead to believe that the Minister for Justice would make an announcement on the issue "very soon."
"We were very encouraged by today's developments," Mr McSharry said. "The idea that a Commissioner might be appointed to investigate all instances of child sex abuse not merely in the Archdiocese of Dublin, but in other dioceses, and indeed, in other organisations has not been ruled-out."
He also welcomed Mr McDowell's clear indication earlier today that he expected the Church to comply with civil law in respect of any investigations into abuse, but said One in Four was not seeking the establishment of a tribunal.
"A tribunal - such as the Flood tribunal - would grind to a halt with the number of cases that need to be investigated, and as time goes on it is likely that there will be many others which with a tribunal could not be investigated once the terms of reference were established," Mr McSharry said.
"It is for this reason we would like to see the appointment of a Commissioner."
Earlier today, Mr Colm O'Gorman of One in Four confirmed that the establishment of a Commissioner with statutory powers was discussed at this afternoon's meeting with the Minister for Justice.
"We discussed with the Minister proposals for a new form of Inquiry which might see the establishment of a Commissioner with Statutory powers that could be used where necessary to institute inquiries similar to that used in Company Law matters," Mr O' Gorman said.
"We sought clarification as to where the law stands with regard to any criminal inquiry and in particular with regard to suggestions that the Archdiocese acted to obstruct criminal investigations into specific assaults.
"At the meeting we also discussed the establishment of the Ferns Inquiry into Clerical Abuse.
"We communicated to the Minister our view that the Ferns Inquiry and a criminal investigation into the Archdiocese of Dublin should be individual steps that are used as part of the larger process of responding to sexual abuse more generally."