It could be several months before the full Commission of Inquiry into mother and baby homes gets up and running.
James Reilly says it'll be the autumn before the government signs off on the terms of reference for the inquiry.
His predecessor as Children's minister, Charlie Flanagan, had hoped to have the terms of reference agreed before the Dáil's summer recess.
But the new minister says the government needs to make sure the inquiry is comprehensive, without going on for too long.
"I expect that it will be the autumn before the Terms of Reference for the inquiry will be agreed and published," the minister told a committee this morning.
"There are many elements being called for consideration by the commission, and we must agree on appropriate and realistic Terms of Reference in order to bring the inquiry to as satisfactory a conclusion as possible."
