The controversial bill proposing to outlaw the conducting or publishing of opinion polls in the last week of an election campaign is being debated in the Seanad today.
It will meet concerted opposition from independent senators, Fine Gael and the Labour Party.
The Electoral (Reform) Bill 2000, which contains measures to ban scientific polls that attempt to reflect broad public opinion, will be met by a series of amendments tabled by independent Seanad members and the Labour Party.
The move is seen as a tactic to embarrass the Government over what is regarded as an attempt to force through the controversial amendments to the legislation without reference to the Dáil.
During the order of business today, independent Senator Mr Joe O’Toole argued the manner in which the legislation was brought before the house was unconstitutional.
He said that because the Bill, which originated in the Seanad, had been amended in the Dáil, it should be regarded as being at second stage. A Bill must pass five stages before it can be approved.
The Labour Party have also expressed their concerns, with Senator Joe Costelloe, the party’s leader in the Seanad, calling for the Bill "properly debated".
"Given some of the deeply flawed elements contained in the bill, its ability to withstand a Supreme Court challenge is slim, to say the least," he said in a statement.
Although Fine Gael originally proposed the idea, they will be opposing the bill, claiming more time is needed for public debate on the matter.
If the bill is passed, as expected, it will not be need to go before the Dáil but will only be made law when approved by the President, Mrs McAleese.
Writing in today’s Irish Times, the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment denied the proposed ban was an infringement of the right to free speech, saying voters should be allowed to "consider issues for the last week of a campaign free from the overwhelming presence of apparent fact".
"The publication of opinion polls during elections is given the aura of incontrovertible fact about the likely outcome," the Minister wrote.
But the National Newspapers of Ireland have said the ban is a threat to the "free flow of information" and say they will pursue all legal and constitutional avenues, including petitioning the President, if the bill is eventually passed.