The Irish EU Commissioner-designate, Mr David Byrne, yesterday appointed an Irish Commission official, Mr Martin Power, to the key role of his chef de cabinet.
Mr Power (48) is currently a director in the Competition directorate, responsible for policing individual state aids cases in the industrial and service sectors.
A native of Bray, Co Wicklow, he is an economist by training and worked in the Commission for 16 years after serving in the Department of Finance.
The chef de cabinet of the present Commissioner, Mr Padraig Flynn, is a former secretary of the Department of Justice, Mr Joe Brosnan, who has expressed a strong wish to return to Dublin.
The role of chef de cabinet is equivalent to the Irish programme manager, playing an important role both as political adviser and in steering through preparatory work ahead of Commission meetings.
Under the new rules instigated by the Commission president-designate, Mr Romano Prodi, Mr Byrne's deputy chef de cabinet will have to be a non-Irish national, as will another member of the six-person cabinet.
He is also expected to appoint at least two women.
