Unions have expressed concern and disappointment at the slow pace of public sector pay talks.
Worker representatives and the Government began negotiations at the Workplace Relations Commission last month.
The two sides have had nine separate engagements over the last three weeks and will meet again on Monday but unions say a lot of work still needs to be done.
The current public sector pay deal, Building Momentum, will expire at the end of the year.
In an update to members, General Secretary of the Fórsa trade union Kevin Callinan said there will need to be a push for progress next week if agreement is to be reached before the Christmas break.
"Progress has been undeniably slow so far, and that is disappointing," Mr Callinan said.
"We are hoping to inject a sense of urgency into the next round of talks, and to make real progress on finalising a deal," he said.
Earlier this month, the Government agreed to repeal emergency industrial relations legislation introduced during the financial crisis as part of the pay talks.
Unions had asked for the removal of the legislation claiming it had made it too difficult for individual sectors and grades to have issues addressed outside of the scope of existing pay deals.
If the pay talks are successful, it will mean a pay increase for 385,000 public servants including nurses, doctors, Gardaí and teachers.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said that the parties at the pay talks have had constructive engagement on a number of issues over the course of the last three weeks.
"Engagement will re-commence on Monday at the Workplace Relations Commission. It would not be appropriate to comment on these discussions while they are ongoing," a spokesperson said.
"Government have been clear that the aim is to reach a mutually acceptable outcome – one that strikes the right balance between providing for both continued investment in our public services and an approach to public service pay that is fair, reasonable and affordable for public servants and taxpayers generally," the Department said.
