Referendum train gathers pace despite opposition

The Dáil passed all stages of the referendum Bill last night by an overwhelming majority, meaning the timetable for the referendum is well ahead of schedule.

It goes to the Seanad next week, where it will most likely complete its progress through the Oireachtas in a couple of days. After that, the Government can set the date. It will stick to the May 25th target, but at the rate things are going, it could hold the referendum any time in May.

Yesterday the extent of the opposition to repealing the Eighth Amendment in Fianna Fáil became clear, as Sarah Bardon reports in our lead story today.

Almost half of Micheál Martin’s TDs voted against holding the referendum at all in the first vote yesterday. Fianna Failers deny there is a party group emerging that will campaign against repeal, but it is clear that many of them will do so individually.

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In his seven years leading his bruised and then-resurgent party, Martin has often found himself at odds with chunks of his parliamentary party. This is one of those times. It’s also one of those stories that happens almost entirely behind closed doors. We’ll do our best to keep peeking through the keyhole.

Our Dail reports on the referendum debates are here.

Miriam's take is here.

My analysis is here.

This morning, the umbrella repeal group – Together For Yes – launches its campaign. It will be interesting to see what politicians are there. Also interesting to see if there are signs of the sort of campaign and message discipline that the coalition will need if it is to win this long campaign.

The pro-amendment campaign has already criticised what it sees as the incongruous use of a maternity hospital for the event.

Brussels chugs along

The Taoiseach travels to Brussels today for the summit of EU leaders.

The (latest) breakthrough earlier this week, when chief negotiators David Davis and Michel Barnier unveiled their progress report, has taken much of the heat out of the meeting with the British prime minister.

In fact, much of the attention will be on European Commission proposals for taxing the internet giants, rather than Brexit – a plan that has been making Irish Ministers and officials nervous for a long time.

EU leaders will also discuss possible responses to Donald Trump’s threatened steel tariffs. Paddy Smyth’s report from Brussels in advance of today’s meetings is here, while our editorial on the issue is here.

The EU leaders will also discuss the Russia-UK dispute over the apparent poisoning of a Russian who previously worked for British intelligence. The UK says the Kremlin ordered it.

And in the background, the controversy over the use of Facebook data to influence elections in the United States and almost certainly elsewhere. A report is here and analysis is here.

The draft conclusions for the summit are apparently pretty bland, though there will come a time when western politicians begin to curtail the power of the big tech companies. Perhaps there will be some signal in Brussels that this process is beginning.