The implementation of important pieces of Government legislation could be delayed for months, following a decision by the President to ask the Council of State to consider referring two Bills to the Supreme Court.
They are the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Bill, 1999, and the Planning and Development Bill, 1999.
Mrs McAleese has convened a meeting of the Council of State for Friday to consider whether they should be referred to the Supreme Court, which has the power to rule on their constitutionality. Both Bills went through the Dail last week.
A number of amendments to the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Bill were criticised, both inside and outside the Dail. In particular, an amendment limiting to two weeks the time in which an asylum-seeker could seek a judicial review was criticised on the grounds that Irish citizens have up to six months to do so.
The Planning and Development Bill also contains contentious proposals. The one which generated most debate was the requirement that 20 per cent of a developer's land should be devoted to social housing.
On the immigration Bill, concerns were also expressed that the only avenue available to an asylum-seeker threatened with deportation was a judicial review. According to the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Mr Brendan Howlin, if the two weeks expired, the individual was then prevented from defending him or herself from the criminal charge of not leaving the State.
Another provision which gave rise to concern was that the only way in which a decision could be appealed to the Supreme Court was where a High Court judge had ruled an important point of law was at stake.
The fact that an asylum-seeker could immediately be arrested when served with a deportation order meant he or she would be limited in their access to legal assistance, according to the Bill's critics.
The Irish Refugee Council expressed concerns that these and other aspects of the Bill could run counter to the European Convention on Human Rights.