The Government is proposing to amend the Constitution to allow for major future changes to EU rules, including the abolition of the national veto in almost all areas of policy over which the EU currently has power, to be made without a referendum.
Under the proposal, voters would be asked in the forthcoming referendum on the EU Constitution to give the Government freedom to sign up in the future to a wide range of such changes as long as they get the approval of the Oireachtas.
This would fireproof future changes made without referendum - including contentious moves such as the appointment of a European public prosecutor - from constitutional challenge.
The Taoiseach, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Attorney General and senior Government officials have briefed the Fine Gael and Labour party leaders on these proposals in recent weeks.
Their response is not yet known, although the Government is believed to be open to considering alterations to the plan.
The Government's draft, which has been seen by The Irish Times, if approved, would allow the State to agree in future to give up the national veto and extend the practice of majority voting in the areas of common foreign and security policy, EU financing, social policy, environment policy and family law.
It would also allow the extension of majority voting - replacing the existing requirement for unanimity - in the areas of criminal law, currently the subject of EU legislation.
It explicitly allows for the State to agree, for example, to the creation of a European public prosecutor, a development which has been strongly opposed by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.
Mr McDowell has said this proposal is part of the agenda of a "small but well positioned group of integrationists" which would undermine the common law system in Ireland and the UK.
It also allows for a future decision for Ireland to participate in "permanent structured co-operation" in defence.
This would permit EU states to act together on military operations, but Ireland would retain the right to opt in or out of any such missions.
The most sweeping proposal is to seek approval to sign up to a clause in the EU treaty - known as a passerelle clause. This would allow the 25 EU leaders to agree that almost all matters currently governed by unanimity can be decided by qualified majority in the future.
These exclude taxation and the issue of a common defence, but include economic and monetary policy, criminal justice, immigration, education, industry, culture and a variety of other policy areas.
The EU treaty says such decisions to abolish the national veto must be ratified in accordance with national requirements.
The passage of the Government's proposal in the forthcoming referendum would mean that Ireland's "national requirement" would be for Oireachtas approval, not for a referendum decision.
This allows the European Council - the 25 heads of state or government including the Taoiseach meeting together - to abolish their national vetoes on the bulk of the internal policies of the EU.
The Amsterdam and Nice Treaties also listed "options and discretions" to which the Government could sign up in future without referendum, such as the Schengen agreement on passport-free travel within the EU.
However, the range of options and discretions which are all listed in the treaty - is wider in this treaty than in any previous one.
The sweeping passerelle clause for the first time allows the Government to sign up to the abolition of the national veto in a wide range of unspecified areas.
The proposal does not allow the EU to be given new powers or "competences" not listed in the Constitutional Treaty without approval by referendum. The policy areas in which it envisages the possible abolition of the national veto are already within the competence of the EU, but currently require unanimous decisions.