Two further amendments to the proposed abortion legislation have been submitted by pro-life TDs.

The new amendments come from eight pro-life TDs, who are calling for doctors to be required to record details such as the marital status and ethnicity of a woman receiving an abortion, and whether the woman has previously had an abortion.

They are also calling for any doctor who breaches that rule to be fined or jailed for up to five years.

The Dáil is due to continue debating the issue this evening - though now looks unlikely to finish today.

More time has been set aside tomorrow to complete the passage through the Dáil.

The legislation then needs to go to the Seanad, but Government sources say they are confident it will be passed by Christmas.

Meanwhile, a pro-choice TD has accused some pro-life doctors of "loving publicity".

The comments started a row between TDs Ruth Coppinger and Michael Healy Rae

Over the weekend, around 50 doctors walked out of a meeting of the Irish College of General Practitioner.

Solidarity's Ruth Coppinger believes it was a stunt.

She observed: "To allow a fiction crisis emerge over the weekend at a doctor's conference - which I'm assured by doctors who've contacted me that it was a minority of a minority of doctors who love publicity and want to give the impression that this service won't be provided in January."

Deputy Healy Rae dismissed the suggestion as 'nonsense'.

Separately, Fine Gael TD Kate O'Connell has called for an end to 'delay tactics' during the debate.

She argued: "It is really unfortunate to see the politicians who campaigned against repeal of the 8th Amendment, ignoring the will of the people and attempting to delay the finalisation of the legislation in the Dáil.

"The same old arguments are being rehashed again, long after the people have had their say on this issue."