Claims that the Department of Education failed to act on complaints it received about child abusers will not be independently investigated under the proposed reforms of the Laffoy Commission, victims' groups believe.
The Laffoy Commission has been investigating allegations of abuse which took place in schools and other institutions right up to the late 1980s.
Included in some of these allegations are claims by abuse victims and their families that they informed Department of Education officials about instances of child abuse, but that no official action was taken.
One man, who was abused by the teacher and former Christian Brother Donal Dunne, and whose case is before the commission, said he personally informed one official about the abuse in 1982, and of his concerns that Dunne was still teaching. According to departmental files, a further seven officials were aware of his complaint, but a decision was made in 1984 not to take any action against Dunne.
Dunne was subsequently arrested and convicted in 1995 and again in 1998 for abuse stretching from the 1960s to 1994.
"Of course I'm now concerned the department's handling of my complaint will never be investigated now," the victim said. "This is why the department should never have been in charge of this inquiry."
Victims' groups have raised concerns that specific complaints such as these may not be fully investigated under proposals suggested by the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, to investigate sample complaints.
"The fact that this could happen undermines the whole credibility of this review," Mr Colm O'Gorman of One in Four said.
A spokesman for the Department said that taking sample cases was "just a proposal" and no decision had been made.
He also said that Mr Dempsey had publicly stated on Tuesday that any reform of the inquiry would not hamper the commission's investigation of the Department of Education.
Meanwhile, the Oireachtas Education Committee is to consider holding hearings into the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Justice Mary Laffoy.
Mr Tony Killeen, chairman of the committee, said it would discuss the matter at a meeting next Tuesday. It follows calls for such an inquiry from Ms Olwyn Enright, a committee member and Fine Gael spokeswoman on education, and Mr O'Gorman.