Minister for Children Norma Foley is one of several Government figures who will vote against Sinn Féin’s proposed legislation to remove the three-day wait period for an abortion in early pregnancy.

Sinn Féin’s bill has support across most of the Opposition but is expected to garner enough support from Coalition TDs to pass through the Dáil later tonight.

If the bill is passed in the Dáil tonight, it will then go before an Oireachtas committee for further scrutiny.

It is understood that Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill would then hold discussions with Attorney General Rossa Fanning and the bill could become law by the end of the year.

Government TDs have a free vote on the issue as a matter of conscience. However, some in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have said they will vote against the proposal later.

Speaking in Dublin, Ms Foley said: “Personally, I won’t be voting to remove the three-day wait. I believe when it was put to the people in 2018, that was part of what was put to the people, so I won’t be voting to support the removal of the three-day wait.”

“And what will happen this evening? I don’t know, maybe as the day emerges, people will step forward and give their views, or some people may choose not to give their views until they actually vote this evening,” she added.

A spokesperson for Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers confirmed he will be voting in favour of the Sinn Féin motion this evening.

However, there is an expectation within Fianna Fáil that the majority of the party’s TDs will vote against the Sinn Féin bill, despite Taoiseach Micheál Martin saying he would support it.

Watch: Taoiseach says yesterday he will back SF motion on three-day wait

Eleven Fianna Fáil TDs remain from a photograph advocating a ‘No’ vote during the 2018 referendum to remove the 8th amendment.

Some TDs within Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are unhappy at how the issue has been handled this week, with one Fianna Fáil backbench TD saying they were disappointed to learn of Mr Martin’s voting intention on the floor of the Dáil.

Fine Gael Wicklow-Wexford TD Brian Brennan, Galway East TD Peter Roche and Tipperary South TD Michael Murphy have said they will vote against the Sinn Féin bill.

Mr Roche said his voting preference was informed by the number of women who change their mind during the three-day wait period.

The majority of Fine Gael TDs are still expected to back the bill.

Fine Gael Dún Laoghaire TD Barry Ward says he will vote in favour of the Sinn Féin bill, having previously voted for the Social Democrats bill last month which had futher provisions.

“You don’t have to think abortion is a good or desirable thing to believe that it is a matter for each individual to make the decision if it is the right thing for them,” he said.

“We have to presume that women will think long and carefully about such an important decision and the presence of a mandatory three-day waiting period assumes the opposite.

“We have to trust women to make the right decision for their specific circumstances.”

Opposition parties have welcomed the fact that the Taoiseach, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Ms Carroll MacNeill will vote for the Sinn Féin proposal.

However, the Labour Party has called on the Coalition to go further.

Speaking in the Dáil during Leaders’ Questions, Labour leader Ivana Bacik called on the Government to implement recommendations by barrister Marie O’Shea in a review of Ireland’s abortion law.

Aside from the removal of the mandatory three-day waiting period, Ms O’Shea proposed that the threat of criminal sanction be removed for medics found to have acted outside the provisions of the abortion legislation.

She also recommended removing the 28-day mortality clause around fatal fetal abnormalities.

Ms Bacik said supporting this evening’s bill was not enough, as far too many women would still travel to access abortion services if the legislation did not go further.

She said 1,500 Irish women had left Ireland for abortion services since 2019.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has said he believes there is “no public appetite” to remove the three-day wait.

The Meath West TD claimed his party will speak to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, and Independent TDs, who he alleges are unhappy with how tonight’s vote has been handled, adding how “many people who voted for repeal are angry”.