Fierce competition for top post in An Bord Bia

There is still no closing date facing those who want to apply for the €100,000-plus post of chief executive of An Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board.

The board will be seeking to replace Mr Michael Duffy, the food board's first chairman, who recently took over the running of the Royal Dublin Society on the retirement of Mr Shane Cleary.

The chief executive job is currently being carried out by Mr Paddy Moore, who is acting CEO. However, the former head of the Irish Meat Board and second-in-command to Mr Duffy for many years, will not be a candidate.

Internal competition for the job is fierce, with the front-runner being Mr Aidan Cotter, the board's director of operations and the organising force behind last month's highly successful, European Meat Forum.

The field will not be left clear for him though because Mr John McGrath, the director of the consumer foods division, who has worked his way through the ranks, is also in the running.

Ms Tara McCarthy, who like the other candidates has done her time abroad in Germany and France, is also expected to be a serious contender. She is the current manager of the consumer foods division.

Also a contender will be the head of the Irish Horticulture Board, An Bord Glas, Mr Michael Maloney, whose organisation is being incorporated into the Bord Bia structure on July 1st next. There is speculation that he will not be the only Bord Glas candidate.

Other outsiders are known to include Mr Pat Brady, the former leader of the Irish Veterinary Union, who has organised the various butchers' groups into a formidable organisation, the Association of Craft Butchers of Ireland.

There is an awareness in the IDA, Mr Duffy's old workplace, and Enterprise Ireland, that the new chief executive could come from those ranks and several names have been bandied around but cannot be confirmed.

There would appear to be little interest in the job at the Irish Farm Centre, where one of the interview board, Mr Michael Dowling, the former secretary general of the Department of Agriculture, is carrying out an organisational review.

He will be joining current Bord Bia chairman, Mr Phillip Lynch, on the interview panel, along with Ms Maria Byrne of the Department of Agriculture.