The parents of the 13-year-old pregnant rape victim will today attempt to get the High Court to reverse last Friday's Children's Court decision to allow her to travel to Britain for an abortion.
Whatever the decision of the High Court, it is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court, which would then make the final judgment on what is to happen in this case.
The girl is now 13 weeks pregnant and has been in the care of the Eastern Health Board since shortly after she was raped. She has been with a foster family since early September.
The girl is understood to want an abortion, while her father has said he wants her to have the baby. The conflict between the wishes and rights of the child and those of the parents is a key legal issue to be considered in today's hearing.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said that another referendum on the abortion issue is unlikely to take place until 1999. He repeated the Government's plan to prepare a Green Paper and refer it to the All-Party Committee on the Constitution and then to decide what action to take.
"I quite frankly don't see any other way of dealing with it," he said on RTE Radio 1's Five-Seven Live. "Otherwise, these kind of cases will keep coming up."
He repeated that the people would ultimately have a say on the issue, but he did not say whether they would be asked to vote on a proposal to roll back the Supreme Court decision in the X case, which allowed for abortion in cases where the mother threatened suicide; or to vote on legislation to allow abortion in such cases.
Government sources, meanwhile, say they believe that the three Independent deputies who have expressed concern over the issue in recent days will be happy with the Government's approach to the issue. The three - Ms Mildred Fox, Mr Harry Blaney and Mr Jackie Healy-Rae - may meet Mr Ahern to discuss the matter this week.
These three usually support the Government in Dail divisions. However, the planned consultation period of up to two years will ensure that their loyalty to the Government on this issue will not be tested for a considerable period.