There's a Repeal protest happening at the Dail this evening

Ministers agreed to accept an amendment that states they cannot accept the bill due to the ongoing deliberations of the Citizens' Assembly on the matter.

In a statement, the Government said that it is "moving this Reasoned Amendment because this Bill pre-empts the work of the Citizens' Assembly, the agreed, independent process set out in the Programme for Partnership Government for dealing with this issue and approved by both the Dáil and Seanad.

"The Citizens' Assembly is currently deliberating on the Eighth Amendment as its first topic and is expected to deliver its Report on the issue in the first half of 2017."

However, many have called this out as being simply a delaying tactic by the government. Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith has said that up to 3,000 women could be forced to travel abroad for abortions by the time the Citizens' Assembly reports back next June.

She said that the bill is seeking to allow a referendum for the people to decide if the Eighth Amendment should be repealed. This would not, she said, contradict the Citizens' Assembly.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Smith said: "We don't know what a Citizens' Assembly, which after all is only 99 citizens as against the potential three million that have a right to vote in this country, we don't know what they're going to come back with.

"Whereas we do know, it's a very simple bill, it just says, allow the people decide, put a referendum to them on the question of the Eighth Amendment. It's not complex. It could be passed very quickly."

In response to the government decision, a protest is being organised by the Repeal the 8th campaign in support of Ruth Coppinger TD and will have a speaker from Abortion Rights IE. THe protest will take place at 5.30PM this evening outside Leinster House.