The decision on who will succeed Patrick Honohan as governor of the Central Bank will not now be made until next week. Sources had indicated that the Cabinet was likely to sign off on the job today.

However it now appears that the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, who will bring the recommendation to Cabinet, has not yet had an opportunity to consult fully the interview committee and cabinet colleagues.

The two short-listed candidates, in what is seen as a close race, are Robert Watt, secretary general at the Department of Public Expenditure, and Philip Lane, professor of political economy at Trinity College Dublin.