A portrait of the President, Mrs McAleese, has been hung in the entrance hall of Leinster House at the instigation of a Seanad committee.
The portrait was commissioned by the Office of Public Works in 1997 when Mrs McAleese became President.
It was being held in storage until she leaves office, when it was to be hung in Áras an Uachtaráin alongside portraits of a number of other former presidents.
However, the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges sought a change to the policy in recent weeks.
Chaired by Senator Rory Kiely of Fianna Fáil, the committee secured the support of the Dáil Committee of Procedure and Privileges for the change, which is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle, Dr Rory O'Hanlon.
The painting of Mrs McAleese, by Joe Dunne, was hung in Leinster House last week.
When Ms McAleese leaves office, it will be placed in the State Dining Room among portraits of other presidents. These include the portrait by Basil Blackshaw of Ms Mary Robinson and one of Dr Patrick Hillary by John F. Kelly.
The portrait of Mrs McAleese is flanked in Leinster House by portraits of the former Taoiseach and President, Eamon de Valera, and the patriot, Cathal Brugha.
It faces portraits of the first president of the Executive Council, Mr W.T. Cosgrave, and of the patriots Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith and Robert Emmet, which hang on the opposite wall of the entrance hall.
The Houses of the Oireachtas declined yesterday to allow The Irish Times to photograph the painting, insisting that it wanted Leinster House to take the photograph.
This will take place next Saturday when the scaffolding required to secure a clear view for photographic purposes is in place.
