The Government has approved the establishment of a new form of inquiry which may replace costly tribunals, currently in operation.
The Cabinet accepted the proposal by the Minister for Justice for "a new mechanism for investigating into matters of significant and urgent public importance," a statement from Mr McDowell's office said.
The statement said the proposal is aimed at providing "a more cost-effective and speedy response where situations arise that require a detailed and focused investigation."
The proposed legislation was prompted by revelations of the mishandling of child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin, unearthed in an RTE documentary.
"While the proposed scheme would be well-suited to deal with situations such as the allegations of clerical child sexual abuse, it is aimed at providing a new mechanism of general application," the statement added.
The new form of inquiry would involve investigation bodies appointed by a Government minister, which would not necessarily be comprised of membes of the judiciary.
The emphasis of the investigation body will be to establish the facts in relation to any matter referred to it. While in many cases this would be sufficient, where necessary, it could be followed by a full tribunal of inquiry.
Mr McDowell said this would have the effect of allowing any subsequent tribunal to be more focused and since much preliminary work would have been done already, the Tribunal should be able to complete its work "in a more expeditious and less costly fashion".
Work on the preparation of the new scheme is to begin immediately.
