A referendum on the Eighth Amendment will be held at the end of May, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced.
At a press conference following a special Cabinet meeting on the Eighth Amendment, the Taoiseach said: "We cannot continue to export our problems and import our solutions".
Confirming that the Government has agreed to hold a referendum on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, he said: "We know women obtain abortion pills through the post.
"We already have abortion in Ireland - unsafe, unregulated and unlawful. I don't believe the Constitution is the place for making absolute statements on medical or moral issues.
"As a former Minister for Health I don't think we can continue with a situation are risking their lives with online medicines."
Mr Varadkar acknowledged this would be "a difficult decision for the Irish people to make...It's not a black and white issue; it is grey."
Health Minister Simon Harris said the Government was moving towards giving Irish people a chance to have their say on the issue of abortion for the first time since 1983.
"The Constitution is not the place for us to address this aspect of women's healthcare," he said.
"Change cannot happen in this country in this area," as long as the 8th Amendment remains in place.
Simon Harris said he hoped to publish the Referendum Bill at the start of March, which will prepare the way for a referendum in late May. Ministers have also agreed to establish a referendum commission.
Minister for Children Katherine Zappone said: "The way has been cleared for the people to have their say."
"It is my firm hope we will have a respectful debate based on the facts," she added.
Minister Zappone said she hoped that Ireland would be some day soon a country where abortion is "safe, legal and rare".
The Taoiseach said the referendum would ask voters whether they supported the removal of Article 40.3.3 from the Constitution and insert wording to the effect that "provision can be made by law for the regulation of the termination of pregnancies".
The decision to hold a referendum was unanimous, the Taoiseach said.
Mr Varadkar repeated that without repealing the 8th Amendment, no change was possible in Ireland's abortion laws.
