At a special Cabinet meeting in Government Buildings today, colleagues will press the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, for an electorally popular and uncontroversial Budget.
This morning's meeting has been called primarily to allow Ministers to tell Mr McCreevy what they want to see in the Budget, which most suspect will be the last before a general election.
Government sources said yesterday, however, that Mr McCreevy would give his colleagues no indication of what will be in the Budget, much of which has yet to be finalised, but would treat the meeting as a listening exercise.
Ministers are anxious that no surprise element emerges in the Budget to detract from what they hope will be a popular and vote-winning exercise.
After Thursday's announcement of record spending increases, Ministers want to ensure that the Budget contains no proposal which could attract criticism, such as the past plans to tax the credit unions and individualise the standard-rate tax band.
Sources said yesterday that Ministers would discuss the "general thrust of the Budget" rather than the detail.
They are expected to consider whether to concentrate on cutting tax rates rather than increasing allowances and broadening the tax bands.
They will also discuss how much further to proceed with the individualisation programme, which gives tax benefits to working couples over those where one partner stays at home.
In a further sign of pre-election preparation, Fine Gael will tomorrow publish what is effectively its election manifesto. A Plan for the Nation, covering all areas of policy, will be presented at a press conference in the National Concert Hall by the party leader, Mr John Bruton, and senior party members.
The Fine Gael document will include a "spatial plan", a proposal for the development of large urban centres away from the capital.
Today's Cabinet meeting will also discuss proposals to reform the Dail, including an extra sitting day per week. However, it is not known whether the package of proposals, to be presented by the Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, will be approved today or require further discussion.
The reform package will include responses to the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry into the DIRT tax scandal by the Dail Public Accounts Committee.
These include a call for a separate and independent body, with its own budget, to run the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Today's meeting will also consider a new code of conduct for civil servants and will be briefed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, on the EU summit in Nice in December.