The commission set up by the Government to investigate child abuse has finished accepting statements from people wishing to give evidence before it.
A spokesman for the Laffoy Commission said yesterday that the number of statements received had risen "considerably' in recent week as the July 31st deadline approached.
According to the interim report of commission chairwoman Ms Justice Laffoy, published in May, some 1,250 statements were received. "It's gone up considerably since then," the spokesman told The Irish Times. "But the commission does not want to disclose the exact numbers at this stage."
The spokesman said the commission's investigation committee would begin hearing cases in the autumn. "We will be listing cases from September."
According to the spokesman, a number of cases have been prepared and some "pre-hearings" have been held.
He explained that for the investigation committee a statement is taken and then sent to the accused to give him or her a chance to respond. Witnesses may be compelled to attend.
In the initial phase of this process, evidence is heard and if abuse is found to have occurred in an institution those involved are called in.
A second committee, the confidential committee, has been hearing cases since September. People are given an appointment and recount their experiences to the commission.
According to the spokesman, this committee is for victims of abuse to recount their experience confidentially. "The purpose of this committee is to meet the needs of those victims who want to speak of their experiences but who do not wish to become involved in an investigative procedure."
In June, child abuse victims who are to be excluded from the compensation tribunal proposed under the Residential Institutions Bill wrote to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, expressing their anger.
It followed a statement from the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, that the Bill was "focused on children who were in residential care in institutions for which public bodies had regulatory and supervisory functions, typically industrial schools, reformatories and children's homes".
The excluded victims said they were "outraged" that they were not being included and said that drawing a distinction between victims who were abused in institutions and day schools was unacceptable.