The Chairwoman of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, Miss Justice Mary Laffoy, has announced her decision to resign.
Miss Laffoy said in a statement she would be stepping down as soon as the Interim Report on the work of the Commission under its current mandate is published in November.
She said she outlined her reasons in a letter today to the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science, Mr Dermot McCarthy.
The Commission was established under the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act, 2000 to investigate abuse of children in institutions and find out why it happened and who was responsible.