The Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting today was given an assurance that there are no plans to means test the contributory old age pension.
Minister Éamon Ó Cuív gave the assurance after the issue was raised by a number of members.
Chief Whip John Curran said that the meeting also heard concerns about the international coverage of the economy here.
The Taoiseach said everyone in the party had to be careful in what they said, as their words were likely to be analysed internationally.
The Older and Bolder Alliance has said inflation figures underline that there is no justification for further cuts to the State pension in next month's Budget.
Patricia Conboy, the lobby’s director, said the figures reveal ‘significant price rises in areas that really matter to older people’, most of whom are on fixed incomes.
She said that home insurance has risen by 14.5% and health insurance by 9% in the past year.
She added that the figures also recorded a 6.5% rise in the cost of prescribed drugs last month alone due to the new prescription levy for medical card holders.
Gogarty says class sizes must not be cut
Meanwhile, Green Party TD Paul Gogarty has warned that a cut in class sizes in the Budget is 'non negotiable'.
In a lengthy statement setting out his views on the forthcoming Budget, Deputy Gogarty said an increase in registration fees for third level students is 'inevitable', but says it should be limited to €2,000.
He said that while the Budget needs to be 'tough and credible', it also needs to be progressive and show vision.
He said that imposing too many cuts in education would be 'counter productive' and 'economic folly'.
Deputy Gogarty said that for him, protecting pupil-teacher ratios is a 'no brainer' and that the value of capitation grants to schools must not be reduced.
He also said National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) psychologists must not be decreased, and that investment in school buildings must not fall below the value of the reduction in tender prices.
