Fingal manager to get top Dublin post

The manager of Fingal County Council, John Tierney, has been selected to succeed John Fitzgerald as Dublin City manager, The Irish Times has learned.

Mr Tierney's appointment must be ratified by city councillors before it can be officially confirmed. However, it is understood that he was offered the job yesterday afternoon following final interviews.

The position, with a salary of between €150,000 and €200,000, was advertised by the Public Appointments Commission in April, shortly after Mr Fitzgerald announced his resignation.

It attracted more than 20 applicants from local authorities and the private sector, but only Mr Tierney and Cork city manager Joe Gavin made the shortlist.

Mr Fitzgerald, who has been the city manager for 10 years, is to step down next Friday, but it is unlikely his successor will have been ratified by then. The full council does meet on Monday, but councillors are usually given some weeks to meet a selected candidate before they give their sanction.

The issue of Mr Tierney's candidacy will probably be deferred until the final council meeting before the summer break in July.

It is unlikely, however, that the councillors will refuse to confirm the decision of the interviewing board, which included Mr Fitzgerald.

The other members of the board were Niall Callan, secretary general of the Department of the Environment, Seán Dorgan, chief executive of IDA Ireland, and Dorothy Scally, a human resources specialist.

Mr Tierney leaves Fingal County Council after less than two years at the top and at a time when Fingal, which has the fastest growing population of any local authority, faces major challenges, including the redevelopment of Dublin airport and the upgrading of the M50. He has been credited with spurring much of the new development of the area and encouraging new business, including the Ikea furniture outlet, due to open next year.

It is unclear whether Mr Tierney's replacement will come from within Fingal's current management staff, the private sector, or another local authority.

There is speculation that Mr Fitzgerald will eventually lead a Greater Dublin Authority, which, while not replacing the current four bodies governing the county, would act as an overarching authority to guide development within Dublin and surrounding commuter counties.

However, his first move is to the development agency that will oversee the relocation of Dublin Institute of Technology to Grangegorman.