Green Party leader and Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman has backed Tánaiste Micheál Martin in calling for across-the-board increases in weekly social welfare rates in Budget 2025.
He told RTÉ News that he believes a "common increase is important".
Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys had been calling for pensioners and people with disabilities to be prioritised over those on Jobseekers' Allowance given there was full employment in Ireland.
Minister O'Gorman said that his party's overall strategy in the Budget negotiations was "very much protecting what's in people's pockets and the environment."
He said the Greens had made "significant steps" in making public transport more affordable in previous budgets and hoped "to do something again" this time round.
The minister also said the Government would make a "meaningful intervention" regarding high energy costs "before the winter kicks-in."
He said the main focus on tonight's meeting of coalition party leaders, along with Ministers for Finance Jack Chambers and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe, was to sign-off on a range of proposals regarding social protection.
On the land hoarding tax, which led to a row between Fianna Fáil and the Greens over the summer, Minister O'Gorman said that "significant work" had taken place and that he was "satisfied" that Green Party concerns had been resolved and a "fair" exclusion for active farmers could be agreed.
Earlier the Tánaiste dismissed reports that jobseekers would be left out of hikes to core welfare rates, describing it as "phoney spinning".
The Fianna Fáil leader effectively confirmed across-the-board increases in weekly welfare rates of €12, saying this was "stitched in" to the Summer Economic Statement and any increases beyond that would be "marginal".
"There was never a big discussion about it. There's been a bit of miss-spin, a bit of mischief going on from a political point of view," he said.
"Because this only surfaced in the media, it had not surfaced in any of the meetings I attended," he said.
"It's surprising that that has happened and I made that clear to my colleagues, where did this all come from?" he asked.
He said the question of excluding jobseekers from rate increases never arose in the last four years of Government.
Schoolbook scheme to be extended to senior cycle
The extension of the free schoolbook scheme to the senior cycle is among the measures set to be announced in tomorrow's Budget, following Government discussions last night.
Funding is also set to be provided for 1,500 more special needs assistants in schools.
Minister Chambers and Minister Donohoe are holding a series of meetings with their Cabinet colleagues on the Budget, before a crunch meeting with the coalition leaders at 6:30pm.
It is understood the focus will be on social protection, a package for business and finalising the cost of living measures.
There are said to be ongoing discussions on a possible reduction in the VAT rate for the hospitality sector.
The cost of living package is set to include a €250 energy credit, but it is unclear if that will come in a single payment.
Free public transport will be introduced for children under the age of nine, in a move long advocated by the Green Party.
Currently, only children under five qualify for free public transport.
Two double child benefit payments before Christmas also look set to be announced.
The Government is finalising a cost-of-living package of around €2 billion that will be paid out before Christmas.
The cost-of-living package is set to include a €250 energy credit and extra payments on things like the fuel and living alone allowances.
Other budget measures will include an extension of the Help to Buy Scheme to 2029 following a proposal from Minister Chambers.
The stamp duty rate on the bulk buying of homes is set to rise from 10% to 15% after a review of the tax was requested by the Taoiseach.
There are also said to be ongoing discussions on the VAT rate for the hospitality sector with these talks described as sensitive.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform Rose Conway-Walsh has said the Government needs to do more to assist people in long-term unemployment ahead of Budget 2025.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Ms Conway-Walsh said there are many "gaps" that could be filled in order to make it easier for people to work.
"There are educational gaps there that need to be addressed. There are transport gaps that need to be addressed for rural Ireland, the number of people who would like to take up a job but are waiting for a driving test so there's a whole combination of reasons why people aren't accessing employment.
"Housing is obviously impacting on those people who are seeking employment because there's many jobs that people see advertised that they cannot take up because they don't have a place to live near that place of work."
Additional reporting Mary Regan, Mícheál Lehane
