The State's 2.6 million voters will be asked a simple question: "Do you agree with the proposals in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill."
The Bill provides for implementing the Belfast Agreement in the Republic.
It provides for the establishment of a North-South Ministerial Council; implementation bodies on an all-Ireland and cross-Border basis; and a British/Irish Council and a British/ Irish Inter-Governmental Conference.
The Agreement will not enter into force until British and Irish legislation has been enacted to provide for constitutional change. The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement and the existing Anglo-Irish Inter-Governmental Conference will then cease to exist. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 will also be amended.
The proposed new Article 2 of the Constitution will contain three elements: a statement that it is the entitlement and birthright of every person born on the island of Ireland to be part of the Irish nation; a statement that this is also the entitlement of persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law; and a statement that the nation cherishes its affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad.
Article 3 contains four elements: a statement that it is the firm will of the Irish nation, in harmony and friendship, to unite all the people who share the island of Ireland; a recognition of the diversity of the identities and traditions of those people; a recognition that a united Ireland can only be brought about by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed in both jurisdictions; and a recognition that until unity, the area of jurisdiction of the State is the same as that prior to 1937.