The Dail is today expected to approve the Electoral Bill which is likely to include a last-minute amendment banning the taking and publication of opinion polls in the week before polling day.
The text of the amendment, was still not available last night prompting speculation that there were drafting difficulties. A Government spokesman said the delay was due to difficulties in having the text cleared by the Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, who was in Estonia.
Without the final wording, it could not be ascertained last night whether political parties and individuals will also be prohibited from taking opinion polls for their own use during this period.
The Government intends to propose the amendment during today's Report Stage of the Bill, which is due to pass all stages in the Dail today. The Bill was brought forward over a year ago and passed through the lengthy parliamentary procedure before facing this 11th hour amendment.
Fine Gael said it will support the amendment but a Labour Party spokesman said his party would wait until it sees the text. However both Fine Gael and Labour will oppose the Electoral Bill as a whole, whether or not it contains the amendment. This is because of the increases in spending limits for political parties and the continuance of corporate donations.