The Irish government has closed its embassy in the Vatican City, blaming financial difficulties. A similar reason has been stated for the decision to also close the Irish embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The Vatican closure means Ireland will be left without a resident ambassador to the Vatican for the first time since diplomatic relations were established between the two states in 1929.
Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore said it was with "great regret and reluctance" that the decision was made to close the embassy to the Vatican, as well as Ireland's posts in Iran and its representative office in Timor Leste.
The foreign affairs minister denied the move was connected with the recall of the papal nuncio from Ireland earlier this year after the publication of clerical abuse reports, but said the government had to implement cuts to meet its targets under the EU/IMF bailout package.
It is understood staff in the Irish embassy to Italy in Rome will be transferred to Villa Spada, which has served as the Vatican outpost since immediately after World War II.
"While the embassy to the Holy See is one of Ireland's oldest missions, it yields no economic return," Gilmore said.
"The government believes Ireland's interests with the Holy See can be sufficiently represented by a non-resident ambassador. The government will be seeking the agreement of the Holy See to the appointment of a senior diplomat to this position."
Cardinal Sean Brady, the most senior Catholic bishop in Ireland, said he was "profoundly disappointed" by the move.
"I hope that despite this regrettable step the close and mutually beneficial co-operation between Ireland and the Holy See in the world of diplomacy can continue, based on shared commitment to justice, peace, international development and concern for the common good.
I look forward to a time when the government will again appoint a resident ambassador to the Holy See," Brady said.
Writing in the Irish Times, religious affairs writer Paddy Agnew, said the decision to close the Vatican embassy, while good housekeeping at the financial level, represented "a major cooling" in the once close and intimate Dublin-Rome relationship.
