A new law that would allow the naming of murdered children should be enacted in a matter of weeks.

That's the view of the Justice Minister, after the government decided to back a bill being brought forward by Senator Michael McDowell.

Minister McEntee says the decision was made to find the quickest way to amend the current law to facilitate change.

She says the new law will address a number of key issues: "Firstly, to ensure that the child can be named where they are deceased, and this proposal will do that. Secondly, that the perpetrator or the alleged perpetrator can also be named. We need to make sure that this will apply retrospectively so those really difficult stories we've heard about in the last few months, that this will apply to those families that they can talk about, that they can remember their children."

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