Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is expected to set out Fianna Fáil's general election priorities next weekend when 5,000 delegates gather at Citywest in Dublin for the party's ardfheis.
With Fine Gael, Labour, the PDs and Greens having dominated the pre-campaign period in recent weeks with commitments on stamp duty, tax and the environment, Fianna Fáil will use its annual conference to set out its stall.
Fianna Fáil sources said yesterday that rather than promising huge tax cuts next weekend, Mr Ahern will instead emphasise that the party will fight the election on a platform of prudence. However, it is expected that Mr Ahern will give a strong hint that the party will commit to lowering the bottom tax rates in line with promises already made by Fine Gael and Labour.
Mr Ahern is also expected to outline commitments on climate change and the environment, issues which all parties agree will be near the top of the agenda in the election campaign.
Spending on health, education and social welfare, and delivering on the National Development Plan, are also expected to be emphasised by Mr Ahern.
The party will follow its ardfheis with the launch of a massive nationwide billboard campaign at the beginning of April.
The expectation is that the Taoiseach will announce May 17th or 18th as the election date when the Dáil resumes after the Easter recess in the last week in April.
The Fianna Fáil Ardfheis on March 23rd and 24th will be followed by the Fine Gael Ardfheis on March 30th and 31st, also in Citywest. This will mark the last of the party annual conferences.
"It will be all systems go then. The election campaign will be unofficially on," one political source said.
Meanwhile, senior Fine Gael and Labour figures will meet this week to finalise details of their joint economic plan, expected to be published in the next fortnight. No date has been set yet for the launch, with one source saying it may not be complete on time to be launched ahead of Fianna Fáil's ardfheis.
Party sources said last night that one of the key commitments in the plan would be a reduction of two points in the lower tax rate as announced by the Labour leader Pat Rabbitte at his party's annual conference last month.
The parties are also expected to commit to an increase in the tax threshold and the standard rate tax band and to the index-linking of the tax bands over a five-year term in government.
The parties have not yet agreed their joint position on stamp duty, which is shaping up to be a major plank in the election battle.
It is also understood the joint plan will include schemes to create a more skilled workforce and to prepare for the challenges that redundancies will create.