Labour has drafted a bill to legalise same-sex marriage with a view to holding a referendum this autumn.

The move is being made in order to pressurise Labour’s coalition partners Fine Gael into backing the proposal, the Sunday Times reports.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has repeatedly said that he wants to allow the Constitutional Convention to consider the issue. The Convention is set to examine the issue next month.

The Labour bill is set to be launched today in Co. Meath by Senator Ivana Bacik and the party’s Meath East by-election candidate, local councillor Eoin Holmes.

The Constitutional Convention will look at whether the term marriage needs to be more clearly defined to include or exclude the possibility of same-sex marriage. It will debate and vote on a possible same-sex marriage amendment on April 13-14.

Labour have been emphasising their secular liberal agenda as part of their Meath East election strategy. Their candidate has already issued a statement calling for the publication of abortion legislation.

Speaking on Saturday, Holmes said that same-sex marriage was “a core Labour principle”. He said the proposed Bill provided a means by which same-sex marriage could be realised.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore last year claimed that same-sex marriage was “the civil rights issue of this generation, and, in my opinion, its time has come”.