Pressure is increasing on the Government to move on the abortion issue, with another Independent TD, Ms Mildred Fox, demanding an early referendum in return for her continued support of the minority Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrats administration.
This brings to three the number of Independents in the last week who have threatened to withdraw their support from the Government unless the people are given an opportunity to vote on abortion in a referendum.
A unified stand on the issue by the Independents would create a crisis for the Government, which has been privately working on the assumption that there will be no such referendum in its lifetime.
Ms Fox and Mr Harry Blaney are two of the three Independent TDs who have a formal pact with the Government. This week both threatened to withdraw support unless an abortion referendum was agreed.
Another Independent TD, Mr Thomas Gildea, who is informally supporting the Government, is also seeking an abortion referendum. He said that he was in favour of a "united stand" on the issue with the other Independents.
It is understood that Mr Jackie Healy-Rae, the third Independent formally supporting the Government, is under pressure in his constituency to push for an abortion referendum.
At present Fianna Fail and the PDs hold 80 Dail seats. The support of three Independents, Ms Fox, Mr Blaney and Mr HealyRae, gives it the 83 majority it needs to survive. If one Independent TD withdrew support, the Government would survive with the casting vote of the Ceann Comhairle. However, the withdrawal of support of more than one Independent would seriously destabilise the Government.
Ms Fox told The Irish Times last night that she was giving the Government six months from the publication of the Green Paper on abortion in September in which to make up its mind.
"We have been waiting long enough for this Green Paper and I think six months is enough time to allow for public debate and to let the Government decide what it should do. If it decides at the end of this six-month period to go the legislative route on abortion, I will withdraw my support immediately.
"What I want is a clearly-worded referendum that will give the people the opportunity to vote for no abortion in any circumstances."
The three Independents will meet Mr Seamus Brennan, the Chief Whip, in September after the PDs and Fianna Fail exchange written proposals on a revised Programme for Government which could last into 2002.
Ms Fox said that she was unhappy with the lack of progress on commitments she had received in return for supporting the Government. Mr Blaney said earlier this week that he, too, was unhappy that several issues he had agreed with the Taoiseach had not yet been honoured.
The Government has promised that the Green Paper on abortion will be published next month.