The controversy over the proposed appointment of the former Supreme Court judge, Mr Hugh O'Flaherty, as vice-president of the European Investment Bank is to be discussed by senior bank staff at a meeting next week.
It is understood the nomination will be raised at an EIB management committee meeting chaired by the bank president, Mr Philippe Maystadt, on Tuesday. Sources have said the management is very concerned at the row over the nomination.
Mr O'Flaherty received only a handful of votes of support for the £147,000-a-year job from the 25 EIB directors by the initial deadline last Friday. A simple majority of 13 votes in favour are needed for his name to go to the bank's governors - made up of EU finance ministers - for endorsement.
A bank spokesman yesterday said the bank was still accepting votes, and if a candidate did not receive enough votes from the directors for a nomination to be ratified, various options were open to the bank president.
Those included calling a new vote, seeking further consultations or withdrawing the name from the directors.
Mr Maystadt, who is on holidays this week, is likely to seek advice from the management committee, made up of the bank's seven vice-presidents, next week.
Meanwhile, the Department of Finance confirmed that the Minister, Mr McCreevy, requested Mr Maystadt to press ahead with Mr O'Flaherty's nomination in July. The Department said the request was made the day after the Supreme Court cleared the way for Mr O'Flaherty's name to go forward u147,000 a year position and before the EIB directors' meeting on July 25th.
On Tuesday the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, claimed Mr McCreevy had requested the written procedures on the O'Flaherty nomination and had set the deadline of last Friday.
However, the Department said this was not the case but that Mr McCreevy sent the bank a letter on July 22nd, saying the Supreme Court had rejected Mr Denis Riordan's challenge to the nomination, and enclosing a copy of the judgment.
The letter said Mr O'Flaherty was still the Government's candidate and added: "I would appreciate if the procedures to deal with the candidacy could be advanced, with a view to an early appointment." The spokesman last night rejected any suggestion of political impropriety on the part of Mr McCreevy.
The EIB spokesman said Mr O'Flaherty's candidacy was not on the agenda of its last board meeting on July 25th. He said the procedures to be used, but not the nomination, were discussed informally at the meeting.
The spokesman said that after the meeting Mr Maystadt decided the written procedure would be adopted and asked for a file on the nomination be issued to the 25 directors. The bank said the normal deadline for written votes is two weeks after the paperwork is sent out. In Mr O'Flaherty's case the papers were sent out on August 4th, giving an automatic deadline of August 18th. The bank yesterday received proposal papers for the candidacy of the Spanish vice-president, a senior woman banker. Mr Maystadt will decide next week if approval for this nomination will also be decided by written procedure.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, yesterday said the controversy had become an embarrassment for Ireland. He called on the Government to reverse its decision.