A recruitment process is due to begin in the coming months to replace John Tierney as boss of Irish Water.

The embattled managing director confirmed last night that he will retire at the end of his three-year contract in April.

A spokesperson for the ­company said it had ­"absolutely no idea" what the terms of Mr Tierney's ­retirement package would be but that they would "ultimately be in the public domain". "This is October and we are talking about something in April," she told the Irish ­Independent.

Mr Tierney's retirement after 39 years of public service was confirmed in a brief statement issued by a spokesperson.

"He said he very much ­appreciated the ­opportunity to work on the establishment of Irish Water, one of the most challenging projects ever ­undertaken in the public ­sector," it read.

Mr Tierney, who is on a ­salary of €200,000, sparked fury when he revealed on live radio in January 2014 that new utility had spent €50m on consultants.

Since then the company has been repeatedly embroiled in controversy over staff wages and bonuses, the metering system and pricing.

Irish Water is now set to undergo a re-brand in the New Year in an effort to improve its image and convince more householders to pay their bills.

The Irish Independent understands that the exact format of the re-brand has yet to be decided and no money has yet been spent on it.

Sources said it was preparing for the "next phase" of its existence. It is expected that the plan will be brought to whoever is Minister for the Environment after the spring election.

Industry sources said last night that Mr Tierney's replacement could be sought from an international field.

Mr Tierney joined Irish ­Water from Dublin City Council where he had been City Manager for more than six years.

A native of Terryglass in ­Tipperary, he has almost 39 years in local government and has worked in nine different local authorities across the country.

Last year he described his position in Irish Water as ­"probably one of the most ­difficult jobs that anyone has been asked to undertake".

"I have been up for the task since day one and I will be up for the task for the rest of my tenure," he said.

Fianna Fáil's environment spokesman Barry Cowen has criticised the plans for a re-brand saying that "ship has sailed".

"There is no sense in ­throwing more ­taxpayers' ­money at Irish Water to re-brand it in order to try and win people over," he said.

Mr Cowen said the utility had been "a complete fiasco from day one" and should be abolished.

Irish Independent