The cabinetÂ’s holding a special meeting meeting this morning to put the finishing touches to the Budget.

Ministers are set to consider measures to ease the cost of childcare, and extra spending for the Health service.

The full details of the Budget wonÂ’t be revealed until next Tuesday, but with a final agreement on many measures expected this morning, itÂ’s almost certain that some of the finer details will emerge over the weekend.

Among the chief sticking points are the amount of the extra spending power that will be soaked up in Health.

The government has 750 million euro to put into extra spending next year - but are trying to strike a balance between helping the health service to cope, while also leaving enough cash for other sectors which are more popular with the public.

The biggest area of contention appears to be in childcare - with a second free year of pre-school considered too expensive to introduce just yet.

So aside from a small increase in child benefit, ministers will have to decide whether they will introduce tax credits to cover childcare - or instead spend their money providing extra parental leave to be shared between parents.