Fianna Fáil sought a referendum on citizenship three years ago but the proposal was shelved after the then PD junior minister, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said she would oppose it on a point of principle.
Moves by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, to conduct a citizenship referendum on June 11th have provoked strong protests from the Opposition, which does not want the poll carried out on the same day as the local and European elections.
Informed sources said the first referendum proposal advanced in 2001 by the then Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, was broadly similar to the constitutional change which will be the subject of a referendum in June.
The Government wants to restrict the citizenship rights of babies born in Ireland to non-nationals by introducing a requirement for one of the child's parents to have lived in Ireland for at least three of the previous four years.
Mr O'Donoghue brought his proposal to the Cabinet sub-committee on immigration and asylum, which was chaired by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.
Informed sources said the proposal was initially supported by the Taoiseach. The other Fianna Fáil members of the committee - who included the then Minister for Social Welfare, Mr Dermot Ahern, and the then Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey - are also said to have been broadly in favour.
Mr O'Donoghue is also said to have had support for the initiative from Mr McDowell, who was then Attorney General.
While the stance in 2001 of the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, is unknown, Ms O'Donnell declared her opposition on a point of principle to the referendum proposal. Informed sources said there had been a reluctance in 2001 to push the question with Ms O'Donnell due to fears of destabilising the Government's Dáil majority, which was then dependent on the support of Independent TDs.
However, a PD spokesman said the Government opted to pursue a citizenship case through the courts instead of pursuing a referendum.
This case ultimately led to the Supreme Court ruling last year which said that the non-national parents of an Irish-born child cannot, as a matter of course, claim the right to live in Ireland.
The PD spokesman said: "It was a joint Government view as far as I'm concerned that the matter should be pursued in the courts." The widespread acceptance that the regime was still subject to abuse made the current referendum proposal necessary, he said.
The PD spokesman added that Ms O'Donnell "has made it quite clear that she supports the need for a referendum at this point".
Labour and the Greens have threatened not to turn up for the early resumption of the Dáil after the Easter recess. However, a Labour source said yesterday that abstention from the debate on the referendum was unlikely. The Greens have yet to decide.
