The Seanad will today begin to discuss the legislation enabling a citizenship referendum to take place on June 11th, after the Bill passed all stages in the Dáil yesterday.
Senators will today have the Second Stage debate, where members speak on the general principles of the Bill. Next week they are expected to have the Committee Stage debate, in which detailed amendments can be put forward.
Once the Bill completes all stages in the Seanad it does not have to return to the Dáil unless amendments have been made in the Seanad. With the Government set to reject all opposition attempts to amend the legislation, the Bill is expected to be passed directly to the President for signature once it completes all stages in the Seanad.
The legislation, the 27th Amendment of the Constitution Bill, which provides for the referendum to take place, has to be signed into law by the President by May 12th, some 30 days before polling day on June 11th.
It enables the holding of a referendum to allow the Oireachtas legislate to restrict the current constitutional right of all children born in Ireland to automatic citizenship.
The President is entitled to summon a meeting of the Council of State to discuss whether any Bill should be referred to the Supreme Court for a test of its constitutionality.
However, in the case of a Bill simply enabling a constitutional referendum such as this one, there appears to be no issue that would arise.
Meanwhile the Human Rights Commission is expected to publish its full report on the human rights implications of the proposed referendum early next week.
The commission, whose initial brief report was attacked as "weak and tendentious" by the Minister for Justice, also met its Northern Ireland counterpart on Wednesday to discuss the implications the referendum for the Belfast Agreement. The document to be published early next week will also deal with this aspect of the issue.