Speaking in the Dáil today, Mr Gilmore also said that he and the Taoiseach would be receiving copies of the report from the expert group on abortion.
The 14-member expert group has made recommendations based on a European Court of Human Rights judgment that the State failed to implement existing rights to lawful abortion where a mother's life is at risk.
The Tánaiste the Govt would consider whether the report should be published and that there are a range of complex issues which need to be considered.
The Labour leader was responding to Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald, who said that Ireland was the only jurisdiction on earth where urgency is defined by 20 years.
She said that we do not need a report to tell us that the medical profession is left in legal limbo, and that as a result the health of women is left in jeopardy.
Deputy McDonald said the blunt truth was that women were left in limbo because successive governments have failed to act.
She asked the Tánaiste why couldn't he say when the report would be published, or when legislation would be brought forward.
Eamon Gilmore told the Sinn Féin Deputy that his position on this issue was on the public record and had been for 20 years.
He said it was a position that had not always received public or cross-party support.
The Tánaiste said this would not be the seventh government to ignore the issue.
Deputy McDonald said the expert group was late in reporting, and asked why the Government was now equivocating. She said this was not about the broader issue of abortion, but about specific cases where the woman's life was at risk.
Reilly wants Savita review to 'stand up to scrutiny'
The Minister for Health, James Reilly, has said that he believes the Health Service Executive will do a thorough job of investigating the death of Savita Halappanavar.
The 31-year-old dentist died in Galway University Hospital after a miscarriage last month.
Her husband has claimed she had sought a termination after being told her baby would not survive.
Dr Reilly said that any perception of a lack of independence would be a concern to him.
Speaking to RTÉ News, the minister said that he was also waiting to get the coroner's report, which he said would also be thorough and independent.
Asked why he had not ask the Health Information and Quality Authority to investigate the case, as he had done so in other cases, he said he would give that matter some consideration but he did not wish to crowd the issue with inquiries.
Mr Reilly said that the sensitivities of the families, both here and in India, had to be a prime consideration.
He said he wanted the HSE review to be expedited as quickly as possible, and he wanted to give the families certainty as soon as possible and not have them left in limbo for a moment longer than is necessary.
Dr Reilly said the review had to be thorough and a balance had to be struck always between trying to get answers as soon as possible, but not to do so in such a rushed fashion that the true answers were not obtained.
The minister said he wanted the "findings of this to stand up to the scrutiny of the world".
External expert
The HSE is to appoint an independent, external expert to investigate the death of Ms Halappanavar. The executive's National Incident Management Team is investigating the death.
The HSE has confirmed that it is still finalising the investigation's terms of reference, as well as who will carry it out.
In a statement, it said that it is in the process of appointing an independent, external expert in obstetrics and gynaecology to join the investigation team.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Peter Boylan, of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said it was time for politicians to have the courage of their convictions.
He added that we needed to act like an "adult state" on the issue of abortion.
In the Dáil yesterday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that Minister Reilly should decide a course of action on receipt of the HSE investigation report.
Last night, candlelit vigils were held in Dublin, Cork and at the Irish Embassy in London where protesters called on the Government to legislate for the X Case ruling on abortion.
Reputational damage done to Ireland
Minister of State at the Department of Finance Brian Hayes has said that he accepts that some reputational damage has been done to Ireland following the death of Ms Halappanavar.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr Hayes said that he expects an "early determination" by Government on the issues addressed by the expert group on abortion.
Mr Hayes said that the death of the 31-year-old dentist following a miscarriage was a dreadful tragedy.
He said it was not only upsetting for the Halappanavar family and the wider Indian community, but that it was also very distressing for the medical staff in Galway University Hospital.
The junior minister said that it was important that the Government responds in a "slow, deliberate and reasonable way" and that that was the approach that had been adopted by Minister for Health James Reilly.
The story was on the front of several large Indian newspapers today.
The Indian government said it deeply regretted Ms Halappanavar's death.
"The death of an Indian national in such circumstances is a matter of concern," a spokesman said.
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