The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, will name a prominent public servant for the position of vice-president of the European Investment Bank at the Cabinet meeting next Wednesday, following the withdrawal of Mr Hugh O'Flaherty.
Favourites include the chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), Dr Michael Somers; the second secretary at the Department of Finance, Mr Michael Tutty; and the former secretary-general at the Department of Public Enterprise, Mr John Loughrey.
Following Cabinet approval Mr McCreevy is likely to seek approval at a meeting of finance ministers in Versailles on Friday.
According to senior sources Dr Somers was approached about the job before Mr O'Flaherty was nominated but he did not want to move to Luxembourg. That may have changed as the post now has a higher profile and the NTMA recently won a string of high-profile contracts. The temptation to quit while he is ahead may be great, one source noted. He was formerly a director at the EIB while at the Department of Finance.
Mr Tutty had been tipped for the governership of the Central Bank. However, it is no longer clear that this will automatically go to the Department, and thus he may be tempted.
Mr Loughrey may be the most suitable candidate, with a senior source calling him an "inspired choice". Recently retired from the Civil Service, he previously worked at the EIB and the Department of Finance.