TANAISTE Eamon Gilmore has ordered Labour ministers to push for action on the controversial abortion issue despite his absence from Cabinet today.

And his party colleague, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, has warned there will be "consequences" for TDs who vote against the Government on the contentious issue.

The death of Savita Halappanavar has propelled the issue to the top of the political agenda and the Cabinet will today decide on the coalition response to a Sinn Fein motion calling for immediate legislation.

But Mr Gilmore will miss the key meeting as he is attending a crucial gathering of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels about agreeing the €1 trillion EU budget for 2014-2020.

A Labour source said its ministers were "very clear" about Mr Gilmore's desire to get legal clarity on abortions when a pregnant mother's life was at risk.

"We want a decision as quickly as possible," the source said.

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TANAISTE Eamon Gilmore is facing a backbench rebellion over a contentious Dail motion on abortion this week, with some Labour TDs warning they may vote against the Government.Sinn Fein has tabled a motion calling on the Dail to legislate for abortion, and some Labour TDs are seriously considering supporting it.

The Government will reject the motion, and vote against it in the Dail on the basis that it is considering its position after receiving the report of the expert group on abortion last week.

Labour chairman Colm Keaveney is warning that the government response must not be "wishy-washy".

Mr Keaveney said there should be a clear "statement of intent" about how the Coalition will deal with abortion.

He also said "there is a lot of work to be done in the next 72 hours" to get the counter-motion right.

And Waterford Labour TD Ciara Conway says she may vote for the Sinn Fein motion if the Government's own motion is not strong enough.

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