The Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore (pictured), has said he would like to see a referendum on the issue of same-sex marriage “as soon as possible”.

He said that the issue would be one of the first to be addressed by the Constitutional Convention, which is set to meet for the first time next month.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Gilmore said marriage for gay people was a ‘human right’.

The European Court of Human Rights has said countries which do not permit same-sex marriage are not in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Asked whether he would like to see a referendum on the issue in the lifetime of this Dáil, Mr Gilmore said he would.

“I would like to see it as soon as possible,” the Tánaiste said.

“I don’t believe that we should postpone what is a human right and that is one of the reasons why we’ve asked the Constitutional Convention (to look at it).

“It is one of the first issues the Constitutional Convention will look at.”

The Convention is set to look at a range of controversial issues.

Some 66 of the 99 delegates to the Convention will be “citizen members” and they will be chosen by a professional polling company from data contained on the electoral register.

The remaining 33 delegates will comprise politicians from the Oireachtas and the Northern Ireland Assembly. One representative of each Northern party will sit on the Convention with the Oireachtas representation reflecting party strength.

At the outset, proposals to reduce the President’s term of office from seven to five years, and a proposal to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 will be discussed by the convention.

Mr Gilmore also said that Ireland’s winning of a seat on the UN Human Rights Council was not only a measure of the restoration of Ireland’s reputation, but a vindication of the country’s human rights record.

He said Ireland’s priorities would be freedom of religion, the position of women in many societies and the position of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in some countries.