Children's rights lobby groups have welcomed the Government's wording for a referendum on children, although there is division within the sector over whether a vote should be held before or after the general election.
The Children's Rights Alliance, a coalition of more than 80 non-governmental organisations, said that publication of the wording was a significant step in the right direction.
Its chief executive, Jillian van Turnhout, said: "This brings us closer to our goal of securing constitutional change that will make a real and positive difference to all children in Ireland."
The alliance is to hold a consultation meeting with its member organisations to review the likely impact of the proposed wording. It will then take a formal decision on whether to support the amendment.
The ISPCC and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC), which also welcomed the wording, said it was vital that a referendum be held as soon as possible.
Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop, of the DRCC, appealed to all parties to agree to the referendum going ahead now. "Our children are at risk as the law stands. We must act now to ensure that there can be no exceptions, no loopholes and no excuses for sexual offences against children."
However, children's charity Barnardos and One in Four, which offers support to victims of sexual violence, said that sufficient time would need to be provided for debate and discussion.
The Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, also warned at the weekend about rushing into a referendum without adequate time to debate the issues.
The chief executive of Barnardos, Fergus Finlay, said: "We would urge all parties across the political spectrum to join together to put children first. If it is decided not to proceed with a referendum in advance of the election, we would urge all political parties in the Dáil to agree to a joint motion, which we have no doubt would be adopted unanimously, committing the Dáil to reintroduce the legislation as soon as a new government is formed and to make speedy progress towards a referendum in the autumn."
Solicitor and child law expert Geoffrey Shannon also welcomed the Government's wording.
"These propositions will remove several roadblocks in the legal system that stand in the way of children having the best possible family life," he said.
Mr Shannon said that the provision relating to laws on allowing the sharing of "soft information" would need safeguards to protect citizens' civil liberties.
"Legislative safeguards will need to be developed to ensure that an individual is notified of the exchange of information and has an opportunity to challenge this information," he said.
