The Northern Ireland power-sharing government is expected to announce an inquiry into clerical child abuse in religious-run institutions in the province.
The announcement on Thursday evening comes after pressure from victims' organisations which recently met with the first minister, Peter Robinson, and his deputy, Martin McGuinness.
The groups have been campaigning for a full public inquiry into the abuse in orphanages, schools and other institutions under the control mainly of the Catholic church.
One of the most notorious serial abusers of children carried out his crimes in parishes in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The late Father Brendan Smyth abused children in Belfast parishes, hospitals and church-owned properties across the border in the Irish Republic.
Among the institutions to be examined will be the De La Salle boys' home in Kircubbin, Co Down.
One former resident, Conor Ryan, who lived at the home for two years from 1957, said it as a "primitive place, run like a borstal. My time there could be best described as living hell."
Last week, Amnesty International highlighted problems with the inquiry's terms of reference, expressing concern that the Northern Ireland executive-run investigation might not have the power to summon members of the clergy to give evidence or compel the church to hand over documents about abusers and the institutions they worked in.
In its annual global report on human rights, Amnesty noted: "In September the Northern Ireland executive announced proposals for the establishment of an inquiry to investigate institutional child abuse. There could, however, be a delay in providing the inquiry with a statutory basis, which might initially leave it without the necessary powers to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents."