The three main Opposition parties are to join together in the Dáil next week in an attempt to persuade the Government to refer the citizenship referendum to a committee on the Constitution.
The referendum, set to take place on June 11th alongside the local and European Parliament elections, would take away the automatic right to citizenship from children born here to non-Irish nationals.
It has been criticised by the Opposition and by human rights bodies, who fear the referendum campaign may take on a racist tone.
Fine Gael, Labour and the Green party said in a statement today they will will try to persuade the Government to refer the proposed amendment to the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution.
The three parties said they had agreed to table a joint "reasoned amendment" when the second stage of the Citizenship Bill is discussed on Wednesday and Thursday next. If carried, the proposed constitutional amendment would be referred to the Oireachtas committee, which would report on it within months, so delaying the referendum.
"In recent days, serious concerns about the implications of the Constitutional Referendum on the Good Friday Agreement have been raised by political parties in Northern Ireland. This further adds to the need for the issues to be teased out with great care in an all-party setting. The text of the reasoned amendment will be published on Monday next," the statement said.