The Taoiseach has said he anticipates that the Cabinet will act collectively in relation to the upcoming referendum on abortion.
Leo Varadkar said ministers need to have a discussion about the referendum, but he said he expects the Cabinet will act collectively on it.
He added that is not to say that people cannot dissent on the issue, but he said he expects the Cabinet to make a collective decision.
He said he would be in listening mode over the next few weeks regarding the recommendations of the all-party Oireachtas committee that is looking at the Eighth Amendment.
He said he wanted to see the committee's report, which will be published on Wednesday, and that there would be a special Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting in the new year to discuss it.
He said the Dáil will also have a debate on the issue.
When asked about the prospects of the committee's recommendations being passed in a referendum, the Taoiseach replied he did not know.
He said referendums are always difficult and they start off being about the issue being asked about, but can go off in tangents and that there can be scaremongering in referendums.
Mr Varadkar also said it was important that the Government makes sure that it is bringing forward a sound proposition.
He said there is huge work still to be done on a referendum on the Eighth Amendment, but he is confident it will be held in May or June of next year.
This evening, a Government spokesperson clarified that a decision by Cabinet on a referendum on the Eighth Amendment is taken collectively as a body.
The spokesman said that is not to say that individual ministers cannot dissent from it by voting in the Dáil according to their conscience.
