The Cabinet is expected to sign-off on a bill allowing gay couples to adopt this morning.
The Child and Family Relationships Bill is expected to be passed into law in a matter of weeks, ahead of the same-sex marriage referendum.
Also on this morning's agenda will be the State's first piece of legislation dealing with surrogacy.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has been briefing TDs about the Child and Family Relationships Bill in recent weeks – and says it will be published shortly after it's signed off by Ministers.
That approval is expected to come this morning – with the Government looking to clarify issues of parentage and adoption well ahead of campaigning in earnest for the same-sex marriage referendum in May.
It's expected to allow gay couples and wider family members including grandparents to apply for guardianship rights.
Meanwhile, the Health Minister is bringing forward proposals to address surrogacy and assisted reproduction. Under the Bill, commercial surrogacy is likely to be banned – and at least one person involved in the surrogacy arrangement will have to be a genetic parent.
