(CNN) The Irish government announced Tuesday that a referendum on the country's abortion laws -- some of Europe's most restrictive -- will be held next year.

In a statement, the Irish government said the referendum would be held in May or June 2018, just months before Pope Francis is due to visit the Catholic-majority country.

Ireland's abortion laws are drawn from the 8th amendment to the country's constitution, which places the right to life of an unborn child on equal footing with the right to life of the mother.

Ireland's Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who came to power in June, pledged to hold a referendum following the non-binding recommendations of a Citizen's Assembly. The group heard harrowing testimony from scores of Irish women and received more than 13,000 individual submissions

In Tuesday's statement, Varadkar said the Citizen's Assembly report was "currently being considered" by a parliamentary committee. The precise timetable for the referendum would be defined in legislation that would be brought forward.

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