The Dáil returns from its summer break today - with the government expected to call by-elections to fill two empty seats.
Enda Kenny's government is expected to trigger the elections for Dublin South-West and Roscommon-South Leitrim - with polling in just over three weeks.
Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly reports.
There's been two vacant seats in the Dáil since the end of May, when Luke 'Ming' Flanagan and Brian Hayes were elected to the European Parliament.
Legally those seats have to be filled within six months - but the government is expected to trigger those elections today, when the Dáil resumes after its summer recess.
It's expected to move the writs today, so that the two by-elections can be held on Friday the 10th of October - the Friday before the Budget.
And while the government might have a better chance of winning the by-elections after the Budget, it could also run the risk of raising voters' expectations and then failing to meet them.
And holding the by-elections on the week before the Budget also means that the party machines can stay busy fighting for seats in the Dáil - and give the senior ministers some peace to focus on the Budget's finishing touches without backbenchers getting in the way.
