The citizenship referendum which is due to take place on June 11th has the support of a comfortable majority of the electorate according to an opinion poll to be published in The Irish Timesin the morning.
The figures, published in association with TNS/mrbi show that 54 per cent of those polled support the referendum while 24 per cent said they intended to vote against the constitutional amendment aimed at restricting rights to Irish citizenship of children born of non-national parents.
A significant minority, 22 per cent, have yet to make up their minds.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has described the referendum as a necessary measure which would remove the incentive for non-national women give birth in Irish hospitals in attempt to be granted legal status in the Republic.
It is being supported by Fianna Fail, the Progressive Democrats and Fine Gael. All the other parties in the Dail are urging voters to reject the referendum.