Enda Kenny denies he and James O'Reilly at odds over abortion referendum

Mr Kenny denied he is at odds with Childrens’ Minister Dr Reilly over the issue of repealing the 8th amendment of the Constitution on abortion.

Mr Kenny, speaking from London said: “There's no difficulty between myself and the deputy leader of the Fine Gael party. Deputy Reilly is perfectly entitled to his personal views”.

But Mr Kenny did concede that the pair disagreed over the issue of holding an early referendum on the “complex matter”.

"My issue was that it would be impossible to have an early referendum on an issue that is as complex as this, without people fully understanding what is involved," Mr Kenny said.

Mr Kenny's dramatic decision to allow his party members a vote came on Wednesday night at Fine Gael's parliamentary party meeting, shortly after a reported serious disagreement between him and the Minister for Children.

Dr Reilly had heaped pressure on the Taoiseach by publicly demanding an early referendum to be held during the next Dáil to repeal the Eighth Amendment.

Senior Fine Gael sources have confirmed that Dr Reilly’s comments did “bounce” Mr Kenny into announcing the change in the party’s position earlier than he wanted to do.

Mr Kenny said that it was always the party's intention to include dealing with this contentious issue in its manifesto for the general election next year.

"This matter was always going to be a part of the manifesto we'll prepare for our own party," he said.

Several senior Fine Gael sources have rejected reports that Mr Kenny was essentially cornered by three of his ministers - Dr Reilly, Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald - to move to legislate for a more liberal abortion regime.

He said: "It's an issue which requires a very sensitive, very respectful, comprehensive discussion.I respect the right of every person to have their view on this."

Mr Kenny also revealed that if returned to power, a Citizens Convention would be convened before the end of next year.

"The proposal set out in the programme of our own party will be that within a six-month period if re-elected to office I would institute a Citizen's Convention on the constitution, or whatever title would be appropriate, to put that process in play," he said.

Speaking in Dublin earlier, Mr Donohoe praised the Taoiseach for being the first Taoiseach to commit to putting the matter to a Citizens Convention.

"He dealt with this because he understood the sensitivities involved here. He put in place a process which involved the Oireachtas, has looked to build a consensus on this. No other party leader had wanted to deal with this for 30 years and he did that. The Taoiseach has now put in place the same process to deal with all of the sensitive issues at play here," Mr Donohoe said.