Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin gave a "helpful and important update" on the Budget to Cabinet this morning, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe has confirmed.

Mr Donohoe said the Ministers indicated they would now engage in intensive discussions with all key Government departments in relation to spending programmes for next year.

Ministers were agreed that the progress in the national finances must be sustained, he added.

The Scottish independence referendum was also discussed at Cabinet briefly.

Mr Donohoe said the Government was monitoring what was happening in Scotland but stressed the result was a matter for the Scottish people.

The National Women’s Council of Ireland said yesterday the forthcoming budget would be an opportunity to “bring us closer to a . . . more equal society for men and women”.

In its pre-budget submission published yesterday, the council says the casualisation of work – the move to zero-hour contracts and more part-time work – has disproportionately affected women, as have cuts to public services, community projects and domestic violence services.

The council also stressed the importance of keeping vital services in public ownership, if quality in these is to be maintained – both for the workers in the services and those dependent on them.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar is resisting calls for a reduction in the €2.50 per item prescription charge in next month's budget.

The St Vincent de Paul and other voluntary bodies told the Minister in a meeting yesterday that many patients were not taking their medication because the charge was too high. Former Minister for Health James Reilly originally promised to abolish the charge, but instead increased it five-fold from 50c.

Mr Varadkar said there was a role for co-payments such as the prescription charge because they made people think twice about spending, provided they were pitched low enough.