It has been confirmed that the Boston Police Commissioner, Kathleen O'Toole, has been formally offered the position as head of the new Garda Inspectorate.
Once the appointment is approved by the Cabinet, Ms O'Toole is expected to take up her position in July.
At a press conference in Boston last night, she announced she was resigning from her position following a formal offer from the Irish Government of the post of the chief of the new Inspectorate.
News of the appointment first emerged in The Boston Globe newspaper over the weekend.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said last night that Ms O'Toole's nomination would be formally brought before Cabinet next week.
A native of Pittsfield in Massachusetts, Kathleen O'Toole served as a police officer in Boston from 1979 to 1986. She also served on the Patten Commission on policing in Northern Ireland.
She is married to a retired officer from the Boston police department and has one child.
She has spent just over two years as Police Commissioner in Boston.
During her time a controversial incident occurred involving the death of a 21-year-old baseball fan who was shot by police officers in 2004.
The city later agreed to a $5m wrongful death settlement.
