The Government has committed to increasing the old-age pension by €5 in the Budget, as well as extending medical card cover to 10,000 children on the domiciliary care list and giving tangible support to help first-time buyers.

The two Ministers responsible for public finances held a series of meetings with senior figures in Fianna Fáil and the Independent Alliance yesterday.

The separate meetings continued for several hours, and no conclusions were reached.

However, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe intimated that the old-age pension would be increased by €5 on October 11th, at a cost of €170 million to the Exchequer.

Earlier this summer Fianna Fáil social protection spokesman Willie O’Dea called for the increase, but it was never formally adopted by his party as one of its bottom line demands.

However, the Independent Alliance also let it be known it would seek a minimum of a €5 increase.

Yesterday, at a comparatively early stage of the negotiations, Mr Noonan and Mr Donohoe put the question to bed by confirming the increase.

The Alliance has sought funding for some of the major items that were included in the programme for government at its insistence, including funding for rural schemes and rural town renewal and further commitments on flood defences.

Medical cards

The Alliance has also sought the extension of medical cards for an estimated 10,000 children on the domiciliary care allowance, as well as additional investment in speech therapy.

A core demand of Fianna Fáil is for additional funding for third-level institutes.

It has called for implementation of the Cassells Report which said an additional €600 million per annum would be required by 2020 to maintain the academic status and global reputation of Irish universities.