The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, is poised to appoint a new board at the State training agency, FAS.

The board will be led by Mr Brian Geoghegan, the economic affairs director at IBEC, the business lobby.

His appointment is seen as reflecting FAS's changing priorities as unemployment dwindles and the State faces a labour shortage for the first time. A key FAS task will be to attract new workers into the Republic to fill specific vacancies.

However, Mr Geoghegan's appointment is thought to have caused tension between Ms Harney and the Irish Congress of Trades Unions (ICTU), which expected a trade unionist to be appointed chairman.

The position traditionally revolves between the labour movement and business. FAS's outgoing chairman, Mr Patrick Lynch, was nominated by IBEC. The previous chairman, Mr Christy Kirwan, was nominated by ICTU.