An independent investigation will be held into historical mother and baby homes in Northern Ireland.
First Minister Arlene Foster says the voices of survivors will be heard "loudly and clearly" in the inquiry, which will conclude within 6 months.
She told the NI Assembly that a statutory public inquiry may be the result of that process, something which survivors had been calling for.
Researchers at Queens and Ulster Universities have found over 10,500 women were sent to Catholic and Protestant run mother and baby homes between the 1920s and 1990s.
Some were admitted after becoming pregnant as the result of a sexual crime, such as rape or incest.
The available records do not indicate whether the appropriate authorities were always informed about the criminal circumstances of these pregnancies.
A significant number of children born in the homes were adopted by families here, but it's not known if these were lawful adoptions.
Researchers found child mortality rates were much lower than here, as mothers and babies stayed in the institutions for shorter periods.
However, some questions about adoption and infant mortality rates remain unanswered and will require further examination.
