The Taoiseach has said that the public will see the benefit of Budget 2024 before Christmas, given that energy bills will be landing this month and fuel prices remain high.
At the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, Leo Varadkar said next week's Budget will have a good income tax and USC package which rewards work and puts money back in people’s pockets.
However, sounding a note of caution, he said the Budget had to take account of prevailing economic circumstances such as inflation.
Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said the latest corporation tax receipts would not change Budget planning due to work already undertaken including setting up a reserve fund and going into next week with a surplus.
Fine Gael TDs and Senators are said to have called for the deferral of excise cuts to petrol and diesel due to occur on 31 October.
Mr Varadkar said the Coalition leaders would have further meetings over the weekend.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin warned the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party that the post-Covid economic rebound has receded and there are economic challenges ahead.
Referencing inflation, he said there was more room for fiscal manoeuvre last year but added budget 2024 would deliver.
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath predicted it would be a "very good Budget" notwithstanding the volatility in the international markets.
Referencing what he called "clear challenges" in Social Protection and Health, Mr McGrath maintained that these were being worked through.
Regarding tax changes in Budget 2024, he said there will be a fair distribution of benefits for low and middle income workers and an emphasis on small to medium indigenous businesses.
He said: "We can't do everything but the overall shape of it, the core Budget, and the one-off measures, will make a real difference."
Earlier, the three Coalition leaders met with Mr McGrath and Mr Donohoe about Budget 2024.
It is understood that there was ongoing progress regarding the framing of the Budget but no decisions were taken.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin has proposed a package of €6.8 billion in its alternative 2024 Budget.
This includes a cut to the price at which electricity suppliers can charge households.
The change would keep prices at pre-crisis levels until April at a cost of €642m.
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Bishops call for Budget to protect vulnerable incomes
Irish Catholic Bishops have said that Budget 2024 necessitates "radical action" by the Government so the State can fulfil its duty to uphold "the God-given dignity of all people".
At their Autumn conference, they called for targeted supports in the Budget to protect the incomes of the most vulnerable in society.
They said social welfare increases should keep in line with inflation and they urged the Government to include measures to address child poverty.
The Bishops said financial supports should focus on people with disabilities to enable them to participate more fully in the community.
They noted "the scandal" that 875,000 people are going without basics.
With 12,000 people living in emergency accommodation 377,000 unable to afford suitable and sufficient heating in 2022, they said the situation was "untenable" and called for "radical action by Government".
The bishops also used their Autumn gathering to discuss the worsening financial situation facing people in Northern Ireland in the context of the lack of a functioning Executive and Assembly, which has led to cuts in public services.
They welcomed the work over recent months by the Christian Coalition Against Poverty (which includes the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, and the Bishops' Northern Ireland Catholic Council for Social Affairs), which are urging the UK government, to prioritise measures aimed at alleviating poverty.
Due to increasing humanitarian needs globally, they also called on the Government to build on the increase in overseas aid last year.
They said it needed to make "real and tangible progress" in its longstanding commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income of Official Development Assistance, by increasing its allocation by €305 million in the forthcoming budget.
Additional reporting Ailbhe Conneely
