A REFERENDUM on abortion is set to take place in the Republic before next summer.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is expected to confirm a date with the cabinet today, with a May or June date likely.
The referendum could coincide with other polls, including a presidential election, which has led to calls for it to be a standalone vote.
Following his election three months ago, the Fine Gael leader announced that a referendum will be held in 2018 on repealing the eighth amendment of the Irish constitution, which strictly prohibits abortion in nearly all circumstances.
While previously holding more conservative views on the issue, the taoiseach, who is a GP, last year said he had changed his stance and felt that current laws in which the life of the unborn is equal to that of mother were "too restrictive".
Like Northern Ireland, abortions are illegal in the Republic in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality and are only permitted where the mother's life is at risk.
It is estimated that more than 160,000 Irish women have travelled from the Republic to Britain for terminations since the early 1980s.
Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions, Barra McGrory, recently indicated that health professionals who refer women to abortion services in England will not face threat of prosecution.
His comments followed confirmation from the British government in June that women from the north can have NHS abortions in England for free, having previously been forced to pay.
A tightening of guidelines by former DUP health minister Edwin Poots in 2013 led to the reinforcement of harsh penalties - including prison sentences - for doctors and other NHS workers who perform abortions as well as women who undergo procedures.
