A new poll shows a majority of people are in favour of allowing same-sex marriage in Ireland.It comes ahead of the first meeting of the constitutional convention, which is set to consider the issue, along with several other topics in the coming months, ahead of possible referendums.
The study was conducted across a thousand voters by Ipsos MRBI, and the results in today's Irish Times show 53% back the introduction of same-sex marriage.
Political analyst Odhran Flynn said that is no guarantee of a result in a referendum.
Mr Flynn said: "The history of referendums, including the recent one, indicate that when there is a poll taken early before any information about it, before any wording comes out, there is usually a 20% difference.
"The key is that voters over 55 are solidly opposed to the change and they are the ones who vote as a bigger proportion."