The Government's proposed changes to the Laffoy Commission will rob the body of its central purpose, a prominent victim support group said today.
Aislinn, the association for the healing of institutional abuse, said the changes "fly in the face of the undertakings made by the Government" in setting up the child abuse commission.
The group also claims the changes in their current form would be illegal unless significant changes are made to the Act setting up the Commission.
The group's co-ordinator, Ms Christine Buckely, said the group was calling on every member of the Dáil, in Government and in opposition, to resist the "legal dismantling of the Commission".
Aislinn did not attend a meeting on Monday of three survivor groups with the Department of Education.
At the meeting the Department insisted on a sampling approach to the commission's investigation committee's work. Sampling would see only a selected number of cases being heard at the Commission in its new form.
