The Cabinet will today consider plans for the redevelopment of the National Concert Hall and hear a report on the "Colombia Three". It will be its first meeting since the summer holidays.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell will brief his colleagues on the return to Ireland of the three men convicted of training Farc guerrillas in Colombia last year.
He is expected to report on whether there is any prospect of extraditing the men to Colombia, jailing them here arising from their Colombian convictions, or of they being charging here with other offences.
Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue is expected to put to Ministers a plan for a major redevelopment of the National Concert Hall (NCH) at Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin.
The development favoured by the NCH would include a three-venue performance centre, including a new auditorium with 2,000 seats, the refurbishment of the existing 1,200-seat auditorium into a 900-seat venue, and a smaller hall catering for 400. It would cost some €100 million, and would be facilitated by the planned move next year of UCD facilities to the Belfield campus.
Mr O'Donoghue may also put to colleagues proposals for the development of new facilities at the Abbotstown sports campus, currently the site of the National Aquatic Centre.
These include natural and synthetic pitches for GAA football, hurling, soccer and rugby, an indoor training centre for 35 sports and medical sports facilities.
While there was a protracted dispute between the two coalition parties over the Taoiseach's initial plan to build a national stadium at Abbotstown, there is no dispute over the proposal to build these additional facilities at the site.
The Government has already agreed in principle to provide these facilities. Mr O'Donoghue said in June he would put details of the development to Cabinet after the summer, and some sources believe a decision could be taken as early as today.
The Cabinet will also decide today or within weeks on the appointment of a Defence Forces ombudsman, who will take over the work of the forces' internal complaints system. The appointment comes after repeated assertions by Defence Forces' representative bodies that members were reluctant to report bullying.
Legislation to appoint such an ombudsman was enacted last November.
A decision will be taken within a fortnight on the Government's new target date for reaching the State's UN commitment to give 0.7 per cent of GNP in overseas development aid each year.
This follows the abandonment of the 2007 target, which was announced by the Taoiseach at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000.
The Taoiseach will travel to New York in mid-September to address a follow-up meeting to the 2000 summit. He is expected to then announce the year by which the Government expects to meet the 0.7 per cent target.