Abortion campaigner Ailbhe Smyth has warned Green Party TDs that voters may not “forgive” them in the next election if a radical expansion of the State’s abortion regime is not agreed upon as soon as possible.

A Bill introduced by People Before Profit (PBP) to remove the three-day waiting period and decriminalise abortion in its entirety was up for debate in the Dáil Thursday.

But the Government has put down an amendment to the Bill, which would delay dealing with it until next May.

While Green Party ministers Catherine Martin and Roderic O’Gorman back many of the Bill’s measures, the Green Party supports the move to postpone its second reading until the recommendations of a review of the 2018 legislation can be considered.

Veteran campaigner, Ailbhe Smyth, said it would be “a very real failure” for Greens to vote against the Bill. She warned that if they don’t, “voters won’t necessarily forgive it very easily”.