Restrictions on the amount of oral testimony given by witnesses at the child abuse inquiry is among of a number measures the Government is proposing to speed up the Commission's work.
Following the acrimonious resignation last week of Ms Justice Laffoy as the Commission's chairwoman, the Government today published proposals which it hopes will address the high cost and slow progress of the inquiry in its present form.
In a statement issued this afternoon, the Government proposed adopting the provisions of a review of the Commission which commenced in February 2003. Among its terms was a suggestion to proceed with sample cases of abuse rather than hearing each individual case.
New legislation will need to be passed to give the Commission the additional powers which will also see the laws of evidence amended so that documents are admitted in evidence, thereby reducing need for oral hearings.
The exact terms of the new legislation, however, will need to take account of the outcome of a constitutional case being taken by the Christian Brothers.
The legislation will also provide a "transitional mechanism" to "ensure that evidence gathered to date can be used within the proposed new remit of the Commission", the Government proposals state.
The search for a new chair of the Commission is already underway and an independent report on the future practices and organisation of the Commission will be completed within three months, the statement added.
"The intention behind these various initiatives is .. to ensure the speedier operation of the Commission. To ensure that the Commission can fulfil its remit within a reasonable timeframe [and] to bring certainty and finality to the constitutional and other major legal issues," the statement said.
The pre-eminent concern of the Government is the interest of survivors of abuse and establishing the nature, causes, circumstances and extent of abuse in institutions, and responsibility for this abuse," the statement added.
Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny criticised the proposals saying the Government has failed to spell out its position on the Commission's new remit and the crucial issue of sample cases.
"Some of the Government's proposals may help to speed up the Commission's hearings but they may also have the effect of denying individuals the right to face their alleged abuser.
"Nowhere in these proposals is there a reference to 'sampling', even though the Taoiseach and the Minister for Education have come out publicly in support of this idea in recent days. Has this idea been dropped?" Mr Kenny asked.
He also criticised the promise of an independent report on the Commission's work: "They had an independent and objective source and her name was Justice Mary Laffoy."
Sinn Féin leader in the Dáil, Mr Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, said today's response revealed "gross mismanagement and a disregard for the rights and sensitivities of victims".
"The Taoiseach has failed to give political leadership since the resignation of Justice Laffoy and instead has been more concerned to insulate his public image from the damaging fallout," Mr Ó Caoláin said.