Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said a significant amount of the Budget has been agreed ahead of its announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking this afternoon in Cork, the Fianna Fáil leader said meetings will continue over the weekend between the three coalition party leaders, as well as ministers Michael McGrath and Paschal Donohoe, to sign off on outstanding issues.
Mr Martin said ministers were meeting, with Minister for Public Expenditure Mr Donohoe to agree their departmental estimates, while Minister for Finance Mr McGrath is "fine tuning" his tax measures.
"A significant amount has been agreed by now, but there will be meetings over the weekend by the three party leaders with the two key economic ministers.
"Minister McGrath will bring final proposals in respect of the Budget before the close of the weekend, so there are meetings scheduled for the weekend," Mr Martin told RTÉ News.
He said he would like measures on the expenditure side to be "wrapped up" by the end of today.
"There are challenging discussions in some areas, without question," Mr Martin said.
He said he was anxious that the Budget would be fair in the first instance and that lower paid workers in particular would benefit from the taxation measures.
Mr Martin also said he hoped young people and people in their 30s would be able to see that mechanisms will be out in place in the Budget to protect their quality of life into the future.
He said Minister McGrath would present a very future-oriented Budget.
Mr Martin also said the Budget would take account of the very significant increase in population in the country over the past 20 years.
It is understood that at this stage the majority of departments have had their allocations settled.
Among those departments yet to finalise their allocations is the Department of Health, which is likely to have an overspend this year of over €1.1 billion.
Elsewhere, the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) has said an expansionary Budget next week "makes little economic sense" at this time.
This is because it believes the economy is at, or close to, capacity with full employment.
The union-backed think tank said that the level of spending outlined in the Government's Summer Economic Statement will "add moderately to overheating and inflation".
Watch: What you need to know ahead of Budget 2024
Govt mulling scheme to help small businesses
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government is considering a mechanism in the Budget to help small businesses make up for increased costs and for the withdrawal of energy supports.
Speaking in Granada this afternoon, he said: "We're looking at a mechanism whereby we can give some help to small businesses in particular in the budget. And that's in recognition that small businesses in particular are facing increased energy costs.
"They're also facing a lot of increased labour costs, in part because of Government decisions to increase the minimum wage and bring in things like statutory sick pay.
"We stand over those decisions, they were the right thing to do. It's going to mean that work pays more, and the workers have more security. But that is going to have a substantial financial impact on small businesses in the new year.
"We're examining mechanisms at the moment as to how we can cushion that in some way, but we don't have that agreed as yet."
Additional reporting: Tommy Meskill
