An assembly committee is to meet on Wednesday to discuss proposals for a children's commissioner for Northern Ireland.

The Committee of the Centre will be meeting junior ministers Denis Haughey and Dermot Nesbitt at Stormont.

The junior ministers will provide information about their plans for taking the proposals forward.

The committee will then undertake consultation with a number of groups interested in the establishment of the children's commissioner.

On 26 February, Northern Ireland's first and deputy ministers published the power-sharing executive's revised programme for government.

Proposals

The 207-page document was an amended version of the detailed plan released in October last year.

Changes to the draft programme passed in the assembly included proposals for the provision of a children's commissioner.

The chairman of the committee, assembly member Edwin Poots, said he hoped the consultation process would be completed quickly and lead to the early appointment of a commissioner.

In a statement, Mr Poots said: "There is widespread support within the assembly for the establishment of a children's commissioner.

"The committee of the centre will be playing a key role in identifying what the role of the commissioner would be.

"This is the first in a series of meetings with interested parties which we hope will ensure that the consultation process will be completed quickly and lead to the early appointment of the children's commissioner."