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MICHAEL Torpey, the man leading the Department of Finance's banking division, does not have to go through a lengthy "cooling-off period" before taking up his high-powered new job at Bank of Ireland.
Senior civil servants seeking to join private companies must be cleared by the Outside Appointments Board to prevent potential conflicts of interest occurring.
"Mr Torpey was on secondment to the Department of Finance from the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). He is not a civil servant and is subject to the NTMA code of conduct," according to the Department of Finance.
"Mr Torpey was on annual leave from December 14 and has returned to the NTMA on return from his leave. He is to become Bank of Ireland's chief executive of its Corporate and Treasury Division before the end of March."
The decision by Ireland's top banking civil servant to move to one of the banks he was overseeing has come under scrutiny.
"In accordance with normal practice, he will not take up duty in the banks for another two months. There is a kind of cordon sanitaire for three months so there is no conflict of interest in the way this was operated," Michael Noonan told the Dail last week.
As part of reform of the public sector and regulation of lobbyists, the Government has examined proposals for a twoyear "cooling-off " period for public servants or ministers before they can work in the private sector or any area with a potential conflict of interest with their former area of public employment.
The NTMA said it had nothing further to add to Noonan's comments in the Dail.
