Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is to remain in the job for another three months to facilitate the appointment of a successor.
The Cabinet agreed to his contract extension this morning.
The Commissioner had been due to retire on 1 June but will now stay on in the role until 1 September.
The process to replace him has not yet commenced and the position of Garda Commissioner has not yet been advertised.
The appointment of the new commissioner is the function of the new Garda Board, which only formally came into existence two weeks ago with the commencement of the new Garda legislation, the Policing Security and Community Safety Act.
Commissioner Harris was appointed Garda Commissioner for a five-year term in September 2018, and is a former deputy commissioner of the PSNI.
He accepted a two-year extension in 2023 and was due to leave before his 60th Birthday, the previous retirement age for all gardaí.
This has since been extended to 62.
