The Labour Party has backed a proposal to support the legalisation of abortion in certain circumstances.
Delegates at the party's annual conference in Killarney voted in favour of bringing forward legislation to support abortions in cases where there is a risk to the life of the mother or where there is a foetal abnormality likely to result in the death of the foetus.
The policy is an attempt to heal division within the party over the issue. An internal party committee has been working on the policy for several months.
Yesterday at the conference the party accused the Government of presiding over a third world health service.
Spokeswoman on health, Ms Liz McManus, launched a savage verbal attack on the Government, saying she did not believe the Taoiseach was committed, or even interested, in creating a world-class health service.
In any case, she said, the Minister for Health, Mr Micheál Martin, was incapable of providing one.
Ms McManus said the deterioration in the service in recent years was both "shocking" and "inexplicable" to the general public.
She accused Mr Martin of being weak, self-serving and dishonest.