Derek Moran, the assistant secretary general with responsibility for fiscal policy division, is set to be appointed to the top job in the Department of Finance.

Mr Moran, a veteran of the Department of Finance, has been selected as the preferred candidate for the position of secretary general. His appointment will require cabinet approval at its next meeting on Tuesday of next week.

Mr Moran will replace John Moran, a rare private sector appointee to a senior position in the Department.

John Moran resigned unexpectedly from his position in May, only two years after taking command, after a private sector career in banking and a period with the Central Bank. Derek Moran is chairman of the tax strategy group in the Department and a council member of the Foundation for Fiscal Studies.

He has served on National and Economic and Social Council, National Statistics Board and the EU's Economic Policy and Tax Policy Committees. Mr Moran's colleague Ann Nolan, second secretary in the financial services division, was also seen as a favourite for the vitally important economic role.

“The Minister will be bringing a name to cabinet next Tuesday for its approval. I cannot comment further,” a spokesman for the Department of Finance said.

External applications were not invited for the role of secretary general, one of the most important jobs in the civil service as it oversees economic, fiscal, taxation and banking policy for Minister for Finance Michael Noonan.

In an internal notice inviting applications for the role, the Government said it was looking for a person “with an understanding of the policy and political context in which the Department operates”. The person should also be “a skilled negotiator in the international and domestic political context.”