The Minister for European Affairs, Dick Roche, has cautioned that Europe gets away from what he called the childish beauty contest in selecting a President of Europe.
Speaking at the European Affairs Committee, Dick Roche said people with the competence and political experience should be identified, not a 'primadonna' or somebody who would be star performer.
He said it was time for the shadow boxing to end and for the candidates to come forward.
The minister said he believed John Bruton had many of the qualities that were specifically needed to fulfil the job of President.
Mr Roche said his preferred method of selecting the President and the High Commissioner would be by consensus and not by qualified majority vote, which he said could potentially end up an attempt by the bigger parties - such as the EPP or the ELDR - to carve up issues between themselves.
He said he hoped a number of issues would be resolved at a special meeting of EU heads of state in the next week.
