IF the rumour mill around Leinster House is to be believed, at some point in the coming week, Taoiseach Brian Cowen will announce that his former cabinet colleague Máire Geoghegan-Quinn will become Ireland's next EU commissioner. But there are legitimate question marks over whether the former Galway TD is the best person to fill the role.

That is absolutely no reflection on Geoghegan-Quinn's abilities. She was a politician of serious stature – no question about that. She deserves respect for becoming the first woman cabinet minister since the foundation of the state; for taking a stand against Charlie Haughey's leadership; and for overseeing major law reform legislation as justice minister, most notably the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

As someone who also served as minister of state at the Department of European Affairs between 1987 and 1991, she would have been more than qualified to become Ireland's EU commissioner back in 1992 when, instead, Pádraig Flynn got the job.

But that was then and this is now. Geoghegan-Quinn retired from active politics over 12 years ago – and to paraphrase a cliché, if a week is a long time in politics what is 12½ years, or precisely 640 weeks?

It is true that since 1999, she has served on the European Court of Auditors and no doubt she has performed that role with her usual competence, skill and professionalism.

But the Court of Auditors, which is responsible for checking if the EU budget is correctly implemented, is a backwater in EU terms. A posting in Luxembourg is very well remunerated but it is certainly not seen as a stepping stone to greater things in the EU. Going from there to the European Commission is a little like a professional footballer going from the J League in Japan to La Liga in Spain – not impossible but a huge step up in standard.

A newspaper profile of Geoghegan-Quinn last year quoted her as saying that when her term at the Court of Auditors is up in 2012, she would return to Galway and "put my feet up and write a book". Instead, it looks like she will be in the thick of it in Brussels.

If she is appointed to the job, it would represent only the second time in Ireland's four decades in the EU that a non-cabinet member was appointed by a Taoiseach of the day. The first was Dick Burke and he had been a member of the Fine Gael-Labour national coalition the first time he had got the job in the 1970s. He was subsequently given the job again, while an opposition TD in 1982, by Charlie Haughey in the hope that the minority Fianna Fáil government would win the ensuing by-election and shore up its position in the Dáil. The move backfired on Haughey when Fine Gael held the seat in Dublin West.

There is no suggestion that Geoghegan-Quinn's appointment would 'back-fire'. She will not let anybody down in Brussels. She is far too capable for that. Indeed, based on her track record, there is every chance she would rise to the challenge. The mid-ranking 'budget' portfolio might even be a neat fit with her experience in the Court of Auditors.

But after so long out of active politics, there are surely more deserving candidates for this hugely important job who would be better placed to secure one of the more prestigious positions on the commission.

Nobody expects Cowen to appoint somebody from his cabinet. He has to be realistic. The tentative nature of the government's Dáil majority means it would be hugely risky to go for somebody such as Mary Harney or Noel Dempsey, notwithstanding their obvious credentials.

So the question is whether Cowen is big enough to go for somebody outside the Fianna Fáil family.

The Taoiseach is unfairly criticised for putting Fianna Fáil ahead of the national interests – any proper assessment of the tough and hugely politically unpopular decisions he has made in the past 12 months would suggest otherwise. But the perception certainly exists. One way to finally silence those criticisms would be to appoint a non-Fianna Fáil figure such as Pat Cox or Ruairí Quinn to the commission.

Cox has his detractors, but there is no denying his absolute commitment to European affairs, as evidenced by his role in the recent referendum. He was a serious player in the European Parliament and would be well placed to land a major portfolio in the new Commission. As would Ruairí Quinn. The former finance minister would inevitably attain strong backing from the Socialist Group. His appointment would also have the benefit of, temporarily at least, strengthening the government's Dáil majority.

More importantly though, an appointment strictly on the basis of merit without any reference to political DNA would send out a powerful signal of intent to our EU partners, particularly in the light of Ireland's recent rocky relationship with Europe.

It would also add to Cowen's stature as a leader, a stature that to be fair has been enhanced in recent weeks. Since the return of the Dáil in September, the Taoiseach has been more focused and determined. He has the look of a man intent on doing what has to be done to sort out the mess regardless of the consequences. Jettisoning the time-honoured tradition of appeasing the party faithful by appointing commissioners only from within the ranks would mark another significant step on his path from tribal leader to statesman.

scoleman@tribune.ie