Groups fighting the social welfare cuts announced in last month's Estimates are to meet the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, next Tuesday.
Though she has not yet met any of the groups opposed to the cuts, Ms Coughlan said yesterday she intended going ahead with the cuts as announced, "before the end of the year".
The Minister was speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme.
As part of a drive to save her Department €55.8 million, the Minister has announced the discontinuation or curtailment of a number of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) schemes.
Most controversially, she has announced that anyone applying for rent allowance would have to be renting by their own means for six months before being deemed eligible. Groups have said this would lead to a huge increase in homelessness.
She has also announced her intention to discontinue her Department's contribution towards emergency creche payments. This has given rise to fears that a number of creches providing care to children identified as having emotional, psychological and social needs would have to close. It has since emerged the Minister intends her Department's contribution to this to be taken over by health boards.
Her meeting on Tuesday will be with the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and representatives of three organisations - Threshold, the Simon Community and the lone parent organisation, OPEN.
These three groups will be there on behalf of 13 groups, including the Irish Refugee Council, the National Women's Council and the Society of St Vincent de Paul.
Mr Patrick Burke, spokesman for Threshold, said the policy change on rent supplement was "ill thought-out" and taken without any reference to those groups that might be considered experts in the housing area.
He said he would be hoping to convince the Minister of the need for a review of the cut.
