The Government is facing renewed pressure over the citizenship referendum after Fine Gael and Labour moved to seek special hearings of the Oireachtas justice committee to examine the proposal.
With the Human Rights Commission preparing to publish a legal critique of the proposal tomorrow, the main Opposition parties are seeking to push back the committee-stage Dáil debate by urging the justice committee to conduct public hearings into the Government's proposal.
If sanctioned by the Fianna Fáil-controlled committee, such hearings could disrupt Government plans to enact legislation before May 11th to allow the referendum take place on June 11th.
Labour's justice spokesman, Mr Joe Costello, wants to hear from SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan, who described the referendum proposal as being akin to a "drive-by" change to the Constitution and the Belfast Agreement.
Both Fine Gael and Labour want to hear from the Human Rights Commission, which has expressed concern about the Government proposal, and from the masters of the Dublin maternity hospitals, who have denied urging the Government to change the Constitution in order to deal with non-national mothers presenting late to give birth here.
Fine Gael's justice spokesman, Mr Jim O'Keeffe, wrote on Friday to the chairman of the committee, the Fianna Fáil TD Mr Seán Ardagh, stating: "The committee should invite before it key experts and personnel from the legal, medical and human rights areas to provide their expert insights into the implications of the proposed constitutional amendment."
Mr Costello specifically stated yesterday that the committee should meet before the committee-stage debate, which is due to take place on Wednesday.
Members of the Human Rights Commission are concerned that the referendum could have implications for the Belfast Agreement.
