The terms of reference for the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes will be brought to Cabinet and published on January 8th.
More than 160 submissions were received during the consultation process, a spokesman for the Minister for Children said.
The spokesman said a huge amount of work has been done over the last number of months, including interdepartmental group meetings and frequent meetings with the Attorney General.
He said Dr Reilly feels he has met with all the survivors groups and other representative organisations. “We now have what we believe to be the final terms of reference”.
The Government announced the establishment of a commission of inquiry in May, following revelations about the deaths of almost 800 children at Tuam mother-and-baby home. The commission will be chaired by Ms Justice Yvonne Murphy.
The spokesman said Dr Reilly wanted to ensure Cabinet would consider the terms of reference for a “respectful” amount of time and that the matter would receive the same treatment in the Oireachtas.
Contact was made yesterday with the representative groups met by the Minister. They were informed that an agreement had been reached with the Attorney General on the commission’s terms of reference and that the terms would be presented at the first Cabinet meeting of the new year.
The groups were not provided with details of what the terms of reference contain, such as which institutions would specifically be examined by the commission.
Some survivors of Protestant mother and baby homes have been lobbying the Minister to include specific institutions, such as Westbank Orphanage, Co Wicklow, in the terms of reference.
In November, Dr Reilly said some issues being raised in public debate on mother-and-baby homes are beyond the focus of the commission of inquiry.
Replying to a parliamentary question from Socialist TD Joe Higgins on whether Westbank would be included in the commission, Dr Reilly said “it is clear at this stage that at least some of the issues being raised in public debate are beyond the intended central focus on mother-and-baby homes, as debated by the house”.
