The Dáil now looks set to sit into the early hours of the morning to complete the passage of the abortion legislation. European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton is expected to vote against the legislation when her amendments are rejected later tonight.
Earlier the Health Minister refused to accept proposals calling for the legislation to be less restrictive.
And James Reilly insists he is willing to debate the legislation for as long as people want.
Meanwhile the Transport Minister says it will be a long road back to the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party for Junior Minister Creighton if she votes against the abortion legislation.
Some of the 165 amendments tabled will be debated before the key vote at around 10pm, when all eyes will be on Minister Creighton. Michelle Mulherin, John O'Mahony or John Paul Phelan may also join her in voting against the Bill.
Leo Varadkar says Minister Creighton will face an uphill battle to get back into the parliamentary party if she loses the whip tonight.
"There's a possibility that they could come back to the party but that's not easy - you'd have to get a vote in the Parliamentary Party to re-admit you" he said.
"You'd have to get your own party members to select you and I think that may be a significant issue for Lucinda in the future, given that she represents a very liberal constituency actually - both in terms of voters and the party membership are very liberal in that constituency" he added.
Seperatly, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has said that Catholic Archbishop Eamon Martin is entitled to his opinion on the abortion issue. In an RTE radio interview this morning the Archbishop said TDs who vote in support of abortion laws are "co-operating with evil".
Minister Brendan Howlin says the government is clear in its objective when it comes to the new legislation.
"The Archbishop is presenting a prospective from the Catholic Church - he's perfectly entitled to voice his opinion" he said.
"Every member of the Dail - we have a clear view of what needs to be done - and we're balancing the various requirements, both of the Constitution, and at the same time ensuring that there is an environment in particular for women that they can safely have babies in this country" he added.
Protests today
Ahead of the vote, pro-choice campaigners are maintaining a presence on Kildare Street. These say the message to the politicians is that this is just a first step:
Meanwhile, a pro-life group of protestors have been holding a prayer vigil outside the Dáil. They hope they can change the mind of politicians and have the legislation defeated:
