The objections predominantly centre on referendum fatigue, rather than conservative objections to same-sex marriage.
It
comes as the list of potential referendums grows, as a think-tank has
now recommended the offence of blasphemy be removed from the
Constitution.
The Cabinet will discuss next week whether to hold a referendum on gay marriage, but Mr Kenny is expected to agree to Labour Party demands to get more than just a broad commitment to hold the vote sometime in the lifetime of the Government.
"We'd
expect a little bit more than that, with a general indication it will
be held either in the autumn of 2014 or the spring of 2015," a source
said.
It's possible the Government will run a number of referendums on the same day.
Meanwhile,
recommending the offence of blasphemy be removed, members of the
Convention on the Constitution yesterday voted in favour of replacing
the existing offence with a general provision that includes incitement
to religious hatred.
Convention chairman Tom Arnold confirmed a formal report outlining the recommendations would be sent to the Government.
"There
was a high level of public interest in this part of the convention's
business and there were varying viewpoints on the merits of a blasphemy
provision in the Constitution of a modern democracy," he said.
The Government now has four months to respond with a debate in the Oireachtas.
If it agrees to amend the Constitution, it must also include a timeframe for a referendum.
Academics
and legal experts gave presentations at the two-day event, along with
members of Atheist Ireland, the Humanist Association of Ireland, the
Irish Council of Civil Liberties and the Islamic Cultural Centre of
Ireland.
The convention's 100 members voted on the issue, with
82pc in favour of introducing a new set of detailed legislative
provisions to include incitement to religious hatred.