Ireland's European Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, has made it clear that he will not be seeking a further five-year term in office in Brussels when his current term ends in 2009.
"When October 2009 comes I will be looking for another job. It won't be in politics, but I am too young to retire. Secondly, I can't afford it," he told RTÉ's This Week.
Mr McCreevy's declaration opens up the possibility that one of the existing Cabinet could be moved to Brussels in mid-term, thus opening up promotion opportunities for others.
Mr McCreevy, a former minister for finance, accepted the Brussels post from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2004, when Mr Ahern was attempting to change the tone of his administration following poor local and European election results.
"Five years will be long enough to do in Europe. I have learnt an awful lot from it. It has been a totally different experience for me, dealing with things that I did not have to deal with before. It has given me a broader perspective on world affairs, not least on European affairs," he told the programme.
Mr McCreevy, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, said he would be surprised if the referendum due in Ireland next year on the EU Reform Treaty is defeated. "It is not intended that there will be any other changes, but it will have to be ratified at another inter-governmental conference.
"It's not what was there in the original treaty, but, as Bertie Ahern said after the last meeting, it keeps people happy, that is the best that we can do.
"We are very likely to be the only country that will put this question to a referendum, due to the Irish Constitution," said Mr McCreevy.
"One would imagine that with everybody supporting the general bones of this treaty that it should be carried, but, having said that, all Irish politicians will be very aware what happened with the Nice referendum. There, every political party, bar one, was for it, and all the media were for it, all the trades' unionists, all the employers' organisations and the Irish people voted against it.
"That being said, I would be quite surprised that when this referendum is put to the people that it would be defeated," he continued.
Following the defeat of the first referendum on the Nice Treaty, Mr McCreevy controversially welcomed the voters' verdict.
"After Nice, I was amazed with the commentary, with everyone being horrified. As an old-fashioned 60s liberal, I thought it was great that the Irish people having listened to all the great and the good debate, all the politicians, all the political parties, all the media and everybody else said thanks, but no thanks.
"If after the debate, and there is going to be a very wide debate on this, and the Irish people vote 'nay' then as a democratic person you have to accept that."
He warned that Ireland will not get the same comfort from the EU as France and the Netherlands did after voters there turned down the proposed EU treaty. "You can imagine the difficulties that Ireland would be in if it was the only country to say no," Mr McCreevy said.