The social partners are expected to reach agreement on a £1.5 billion social inclusion package today, following a major breakthrough in talks last night.
A spokesman for the community and voluntary pillar, Mr Fintan Farrell, said agreement was close, "subject to agreement on a number of crucial issues tomorrow". These include income adequacy, child poverty, childcare and labour market programmes.
The general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Union, Mr Peter Cassells, welcomed the progress made last night and said it should provide the basis for an deal today.
The Government moved from its initial position of £1.05 billion yesterday morning, to encompass some new measures. It also agreed that if growth exceeded expectations, additional resources would be put into social inclusion measures.
The pillar's negotiating position was strengthened SIPTU decided to defer a decision on recommending the agreement to members. SIPTU's general secretary, Mr John McDonnell, said the executive wanted to see how social inclusion issues, especially "the key issues of tax relief for childcare and provisions for life long learning", were handled.
The executive is to meet again on February 14th to consider the final package. It will then make a recommendation to its members.
SIPTU's chief negotiator at the talks on social inclusion, Ms Rosheen Callender, said there was "no question of signing off on this agreement until we are satisfied with the social inclusion package, especially as it affects working parents".
The general secretary of IMPACT, Mr Peter McLoone, has urged public service workers to vote for the new agreement. He will be telling members today that "no other process will deliver pay improvements of at least 25 per cent over 33 months."
He strongly supports the new system for public service pay reviews. This provides for a public service benchmarking body to be set up within three months of an agreement being finalised.
Its aim is to free up local bargaining in the public service. Management would be able to discuss ways of improving the delivery of services and the unions, in turn, could cite private sector comparisons when seeking pay increases to compensate them for change.
While there is provision for traditional pay relativity structures to "co-exist" with the new system, the aim is to replace them with a more flexible system.
Today IMPACT's central and divisional executives meet in Dublin to consider the new agreement. Branch chairs and secretaries will also attend.
One union which will be reading the fine print of the "benchmarking" document carefully at its executive meeting today is the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland. It withdrew from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions because of rumours that the ICTU was about to agree to individualised performance-related pay.
The ASTI is considering strike action in pursuit of a 30 per cent pay claim. It will now have to decide which is the more credible strategy - a strike, or acceptance of the offer of 3 per cent to "early settlers", extra teaching posts and an opportunity for a pay review under the new agreement.
The Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union executive meets in Belfast tomorrow to consider its attitude towards entering an agreement. Traditionally, it has always opposed them.
Disappointment with the low flat-rate pay increases in the agreement has led rank and file groups to call for its rejection. Mr Shay Kelly of the National Organisation Against Low Pay described the flat-rate increases as "derisory".