Recommendations by an expert body relating to human infertility treatment, including allowing for surrogate pregnancies and the establishment of a new regulatory body, are to be examined by the Oireachtas committee on health.
The long-awaited report by the Commission for Assisted Human Reproduction is to be presented to today's Cabinet meeting.
The Government is not expected to make any decisions immediately on the recommendations of the report, many of which could be seen as politically sensitive and controversial, and will instead refer it to the Oireachtas health committee for further consideration.
Following nearly four years of work, the commission has recommended a series of major reforms in the whole area of fertility treatment.
The report has yet to be published although the commission's main recommendations were outlined in The Irish Times yesterday.
The donation of sperm, ova and embryos should be permitted, as should surrogate parenthood, according to the report.
Fertility treatment should be available to unmarried and lesbian couples, subject to the overriding consideration of the welfare of the child.
It rules out human cloning for reproductive purposes.
One of the most controversial recommendations is that the constitutional rights relating to the protection of the unborn should not come into effect until an embryo is in the womb.
Currently the whole area of assisted human reproduction is unregulated by legislation, and is instead governed by an ethical code of conduct relating to the medical profession.
The report recommends that a regulatory body be established to police the area.
Although the commission itself held a series of public meetings and a lengthy consultation period, the Oireachtas committee is also expected to hold its own hearings into the findings.
It is unclear how long the committee will have before it is asked to report back to the Oireachtas.
The report is expected to cause considerable controversy among some groups in the State.
The Catholic Church is strongly opposed to many of the main recommendations, such as human embryonic research, limiting legal protection for embryos outside the womb, and sperm and egg donation.
The Catholic bishops' bioethics committee submitted a detailed paper outlining its views and opposition to such practices.
Bishops and their representatives were awaiting the official publication of the report, expected in the coming weeks, before commenting publicly.
Yesterday Opposition politicians urged the early publication of the report.
Labour Party health spokeswoman Liz McManus said it was "essential that it should be put into the public domain as soon as possible and fully debated by the Dáil".
She added: "At the moment this area is largely unregulated and this creates difficulties for practitioners in the area of human reproduction."