Officials at the Department of Finance have told the Government not to interfere with Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) as it would undermine public confidence in Government schemes.
It added that it would be particularly unfair to account holders who had used the scheme to invest in the stock market if it were to be abolished.
The support for the retention of the scheme was contained in a briefing document prepared by officials last month, which was released to RTÉ under the Freedom of Information Act.
The document states that any attempt to pull back from the initial terms of the scheme could affect public confidence in schemes such as the new Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs).
It also warns that it would be very unfair to terminate the scheme for the estimated 300,000 of the total 1.2 million people who opted to use the scheme to invest in the stock market.
It states that terminating the scheme would deny these people the chance for their equity investments to recover over the next four to five years. So far, such investments are estimated to have lost on average 15 per cent of their value this year because of weak international markets.
The scheme, under which savers qualify to receive €1 from the Government for every €4 invested in an SSIA, has come in for harsh criticism in recent months given the leaner Exchequer finances.
The Department has estimated that the scheme will cost the Government €435 million this year and will rise to €525 million annually over the next four years.
In the past few weeks financial institutions have reported a surge in SSIA customers seeking to top up their monthly contributions ahead of any changes to the scheme in the Budget.
A spokesman for the Minister would not comment on the briefing documents and could not say whether they had been seen by the Minister.
Initially, Department officials advised against the introduction of the SSIA scheme on the grounds that it would not encourage more savings and could prove expensive for the Government.
It is unusual for a document that is so sensitive to be released just days before the Budget. It would suggest that the officials now support the retention of the scheme despite the pressure on the dwindling public finances.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, also recently lent support for the continuation of the scheme. He said it was taking the heat out of the economy by encouraging people to save. Many commentators have called for the scheme to be abandoned.
