Fintan Drury, the chairman of the RTÉ Authority, has tendered his resignation to the Government.
The Minister for Communications, Noel Dempsey, has accepted his resignation and a replacement will be appointed in the coming weeks.
Mr Drury stepped down, said a spokeswoman for the Minister, because of a potential conflict of interest. He has an advisory role to Ryder Cup Ltd and the European Tour and because of these connections he has decided to step down from the position.
In a statement last night the Government said these connections were particularly relevant as Mr Dempsey is considering making the Ryder Cup a designated event.
Mr Dempsey has powers to designate certain sporting events as "free to air".
Mr Dempsey is currently considering whether the Ryder Cup, which takes place in September, should fall into this category. He is taking submissions on the issue from interested parties.
Mr Dempsey said he discussed the issue a few weeks ago with Mr Drury and he was told there was no potential conflict of interest. However, Mr Drury believed this was no longer the case. He believed there was now political debate surrounding the issue of whether the event should be televised on terrestrial stations like RTÉ or satellite services like Sky.
Cathal Goan, director general of RTÉ, last night paid tribute to Mr Drury. He said Mr Drury was a man of the highest integrity.