The Government may not use Article 27 of the Constitution in consulting the public on the abortion issue, the Tanaiste said. Ms Harney added there were "obvious difficulties" relating to that constitutional provision. She was replying on the Order of Business to a number of opposition deputies.

The Fine Gael spokesman on health, Mr Alan Shatter, said the PD Minister of State, Ms Liz O'Donnell, appeared to announce last Friday that Article 27 would not be used by the Government.

The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, asked if he could take it that the Government was giving a clear commitment that it would not use Article 27. And if that were the case, had the Government legislative proposals to provide for a plebiscite, because there were, to the best of his knowledge, no legal provisions for such a consultation process with the Irish electorate under the existing Constitution? The alternative would be a change in the wording of the Supreme Court judgment in respect of the X case, he added.

Ms Harney said the Government had not made a decision on the matter except to establish a Cabinet sub-committee with a view to preparing a Green Paper. The Government was anxious to consult the public relating to any legislation which it might introduce.