The Government is to publish the wording of its proposed referendum on children next Monday, amid increasing signs the vote may be delayed until the autumn.
The wording is expected to contain seven propositions that seek to strengthen child protection measures and provide for more explicit recognition of children's rights.
Opposition parties have expressed frustration that they still do not have access to the final wording with just months to go before the general election, which is expected in the summer.
Most parties are not in favour of holding the referendum on the same day as the election on the grounds that debate over issues affecting children would be overshadowed by the general election campaign.
Groups representing children's interests have voiced unease about rushing into a referendum, as has Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, the former Supreme Court judge, who originally called for increased recognition of children's rights more than a decade ago.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said the Government will only press ahead with the referendum if there is all-party support for the amendment.
The planned amendment, originally conceived by Mr Ahern as a referendum on children's rights, has been rephrased recently as a "referendum on children". This is most likely due to the increased emphasis on child protection measures contained in the wording and the lack of express rights for children.
The seven key changes are to include a provision for the introduction of a strict liability offence for adults who have sex with children.
This would remove the defence of "honest mistake" available to adults and introduce a zone of absolute protection, below which it would be automatically criminal to have sex with a child.
