The Tánaiste has said that she was concerned the support she had envisaged for the Government's abortion proposal did not seem to be there. She said, however, that the referendum must go ahead.
Mary Harney said that she was not yet ruling in or ruling out a decision on the timing of the referendum. On RTÉ radio, the PD leader said that she needed time to reflect and also discuss the matter with her party colleagues before meeting the Taoiseach.
She described the abortion proposals as an honest attempt to deal with the issue and also said that it was a genuine improvement on the current situation.
The Labour leader, Ruairi Quinn, accused the Tánaiste of "monumental hypocrisy" over her stance on the abortion referendum. In a statement this afternoon, Mr Quinn called on the PD leader to "drop the charade and name the date for the referendum".
Meanwhile, Mrs Harney called for the publication of the independent consultants' report into the cost of the proposed National Sports Stadium before a decision is taken in what format it should go ahead.
