Prof Niamh Brennan of UCD has been confirmed as the new chair of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA).
Prof Brennan's appointment comes three days after businessman Gerry McCaughey stepped down from the post less than a month after taking over the role.
His resignation came after details were leaked to the media of a complicated tax avoidance scheme, which allowed him to avoid paying €4.7 million in capital gains tax in 2005 when Century Homes, the timber housing firm he established, was sold to Kingspan for €74 million.
Prof Brennan is one of the State’s leading authorities on corporate governance, is academic director of the Centre for Corporate Governance at UCD and is regarded as an expert in the area of forensic accounting.
Previously, she held non-executive positions with Lifetime Assurance, Bank of Ireland's life assurance subsidiary; Coillte, the State forestry company; and Co-Operation Ireland, a voluntary body promoting north-south relations in Ireland.
She also served for seven years on the audit committee of the Department of Agriculture and Food. She chaired the Government-appointed Commission on Financial Management and Control Systems in the Health Services; and was vice-chairperson of the Government-appointed Review Group on Auditing.
Her appointment was confirmed by Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley this morning.
Politically, the appointment is viewed as significant as Dr Brennan is married to Michael McDowell, the former leader of the Progressive Democrats.
Before he left politics after losing his seat in 2007, Mr McDowell and Mr Gormley were constituency rivals in Dublin South East and were involved in several high-profile electoral tussles over the course of a decade.
Both had to endure a a marathon week-long recount for the last seat in the 1997 general election (which the Green Party leader eventually won by 27 votes). They were also involved in a heated public row on the streets of the constituency in 2007, one of the iconic moments of that election campaign, that was later nicknamed as the “Rumble in Ranelagh”.
"I'm very happy that Niamh has agreed to chair the DDDA, and I look forward to her getting to grips with the complex work of the authority and giving it the strong direction it deserves," said Mr Gormley.
"With her very wide experience, and expertise in the areas of financial reporting and corporate governance, she is exceedingly well placed to lead the DDDA through this current period of economic uncertainty and to place it in a position where it can further develop the essential economic and social infrastructure needed to contribute significantly to a truly sustainable and prosperous future for our capital city," he added.