The government will decide today on when it plans to hold a referendum on gay marriage.
It's set to respond to the Constitutional Convention, which wants a referendum on whether to allow full marital rights for same-sex couples.
Labour has been pushing for a referendum in 2014, but there are concerns among some ministers of possible 'referendum fatigue' among voters.
The Constitution doesn't explicitly limit marriage rights to couples of the opposite sex, but a series of court rulings have essentially meant that a referendum would be needed to give full marital rights to same-sex couples.
Earlier this year the Constitutional Convention recommended that a referendum take place - and this morning the government is to decide on its response.
Labour is already in favour of holding a referendum and allowing full marital rights, but Fine Gael is undecided - though the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said Fine Gael's position will be outlined today.
Labour's been pushing for the vote to be held in 2014 - but there's increasing concern that the public are losing engagement in referendums, and yesterday the justice minister Alan Shatter suggested that any more public votes could be put back to 2015.
