Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for facilitating me today. There was some confusion on this issue yesterday. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who will reply and I commend her on doing a superb job in her brief. She is clearly one of the most outstandingly hard working Ministers of State, but she will forgive me for saying that I am a little disappointed there is no Minister from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade here to address this issue.

On 3 November last, the Tánaiste announced his decision to close the embassies in Iran, East Timor and the Vatican. The amount to be saved by the closure of the Embassy in the Vatican is €455,000. Fianna Fáil has been clear from the outset in its opposition to this closure, citing our important and historical links with the Vatican, its position as an important listening post for international affairs and the fact that it is the centre of the Catholic religious faith. The Vatican Embassy represents one of Ireland's oldest diplomatic ties, with a diplomatic representation to the Holy See having been established in 1929 when the Vatican City state as it currently exists was founded. The Vatican Embassy is being closed at a time when other notable countries such as Russia, the United Kingdom and Australia are building up their diplomatic links with the Holy See.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade denied that the decision to close the embassy was a consequence of recent strained diplomatic relations. He stated, "The key consideration was obviously where we could make savings. I was anxious to retain resident missions in countries where there is a clear economic or trade interest." The foreign policy being pursued by the Government, therefore, appears to be solely founded on the basis of economic advantage rather than the broader diplomatic goals founded on shared values. There is a certain irony in that because yesterday there was an interesting debate in the foreign affairs committee about Ireland's proposal to seek election to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Catholicism remains the majority religion in Ireland and despite the scandals that have beset it, the values espoused by the church and the policies it pursues have a direct impact on the State. The Tánaiste said all of this and more as recently as last July when he outlined the reason for the continuation of our embassy. He said the main purpose of our embassy to the Holy See was twofold. The first was "to maintain a permanent point of contact with the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, which continues to be the stated religious denomination of a substantial majority of Irish citizens and whose actions and policies have a direct impact and influence on Irish society." The second was "to maintain ongoing relations with a significant global political entity which has diplomatic relations with 179 states." He pointed out that the Holy See has one of the largest diplomatic corps in the world, "making the Vatican an important listening post and crossroads on a range of global social, political and international issues of interest to Ireland, including human rights, development, disarmament and conflict resolution."

It now appears the Fine Gael Members on the other side of the House finally realise the error of their ways. There appears to be a diversity of opinion within the Government, if media reports are to be believed. It is reported that at a recent Fine Gael Parliamentary Party meeting the Taoiseach reassured his backbenchers that the decision to close the Vatican Embassy would be reviewed. The Taoiseach went so far as to point out his close personal relations with the Catholic Church. During the heated meeting, according to media reports, the comments were endorsed by the Minister of State, Deputy Lucinda Creighton, among others. It has been reported that 30 members of the parliamentary party spoke in favour of the motion put down by Deputy Tony McLoughlin calling for the decision to be reviewed. Furthermore, I have also read that Deputy Colm Keaveney of the Labour Party, who attended the Stand Up lobby meeting in Buswells Hotel, told people at that meeting that we could afford the embassy.

It appeared that consensus had finally been reached and a review would be put in place to ensure that the re-opening of the embassy would be put back on the agenda. However, according to last weekend's Sunday Independent somebody forgot to tell the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade about the deliberations of the Fine Gael Party. He issued an unequivocal denial that there would be any change in the policy, stating that it was a Government decision and no decision would be reversed. Clearly, there is a breakdown of communications on this important issue. It is important for the country that there is cohesion between the Government parties as they deal with the manifest crisis that faces us.

Our party is strongly committed to the re-opening of the embassy. We believe the members of the Fine Gael Party who spoke forcefully about this at their parliamentary party meeting were reflecting the genuine views of a great number of Irish people. We call on the Tánaiste and the Fine Gael backbenchers, who had the courage of their convictions to stand up to be counted on this issue, to move now to redress the wrong that was done in closing this embassy and to re-open it.

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