The All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution is expected to have its first discussion on the Green Paper when it meets next week. There are 12 members of the committee, five from Fianna Fail, three from Fine Gael, three from Labour and one Progressive Democrat.
The committee is expected to hold public hearings at which interested parties will be invited to comment on the Green Paper. However, the Government has not given the committee any time limit for its deliberations.
One committee source said that "whatever about the party political composition of the committee, with 12 individual members there are going to be divergent views on the Green Paper. We have previously worked by agreement, but with this issue we may have to record minority views in our final report".
The committee's approach is likely to be determined by its chairman, Fianna Fail's Mr Brian Lenihan TD. One of five members with a legal background, Mr Lenihan (40) has been a TD since April 1996. He has made no public comments on the abortion issue but is described by one party colleague as "sticking to the Taoiseach's line".
The other four Fianna Fail members on the committee are Ms Marian McGennis, Mr Brendan Daly, Mr Seamus Kirk and Mr Denis O'Donovan.
Ms McGennis (45) was first elected to the Dail at the 1997 general election, having previously been a Taoiseach's nominee to the Seanad. The Dublin Central deputy is considered the most liberal of her four party colleagues on the abortion issue.
Mr Daly (59) was first elected to the Dail in 1973. The Clare deputy has held several ministerial portfolios including Social Welfare, Defence and Marine. The Louth TD, Mr Kirk (54), has been a member of the Dail since November 1982 and was a junior minister from 1987 to 1992. Both Mr Daly and Mr Kirk are seen as being part of the conservative wing of Fianna Fail.
Mr O'Donovan (44) is a solicitor and member of Cork County Council. He has been an unsuccessful candidate for Cork South West on several occasions. That constituency only marginally voted in favour of the 1992 referendums on the right to travel and the right to information, registering among the highest votes in opposition to the proposals in the State. Another committee member from Cork South West is Mr Jim O'Keeffe of Fine Gael. A solicitor, Mr O'Keeffe has been a Dail deputy for 22 years. He held several junior minister positions in governments led by Dr Garret FitzGerald. He is currently Fine Gael's spokesman on social, community and family affairs.
Mr Tom Enright (59) was first elected to the Dail for Fine Gael in 1969 and held his seat in Laois-Offaly until the 1992 general election. After a term in the Seanad, he regained his Dail seat at the last general election. Mr Enright is a solicitor.
The third Fine Gael member of the committee, Mr Fergus O'Dowd (41), was first elected to the Seanad in 1997. A former teacher, he has been a member of Louth County Council since 1979 and mayor of Drogheda on three occasions.
All three Fine Gael members are considered to be conservative on social issues but are thought unlikely to break ranks with their party's position which opposes both legislation and another referendum on abortion.
The Labour Party representatives on the committee, Mr Derek McDowell, Ms Liz McManus and Ms Kathleen O'Meara, are all opposed to another abortion referendum. They are also considered to be the most liberal of the 12 committee members. Mr McDowell (41) was first elected to the Dail in 1992. A solicitor, the Dublin North Central TD is currently Labour Party spokesman on finance.
As the Labour Party spokeswoman on health, Ms Liz McManus (52) is likely to be centrally involved in the abortion debate. The Wicklow deputy first won a Dail seat for the now defunct Democratic Left in 1992. She was a junior minister in the rainbow government.
At 39, Senator Kathleen O'Mara is the youngest member of the committee. A former journalist, she was an adviser to junior minister Ms Eithne FitzGerald from 1994 to 1997. The Nenagh-based Labour senator is also a member of Tipperary North Riding County Council.
The sole Progressive Democrats representative on the committee is Senator John Dardis (54). The Newbridge-based politician has been a member of Kildare County Council since 1991. He was a Taoiseach's nominee to the Seanad in 1997.