Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I thank Senator Walsh for raising this matter. The decision to close Ireland's resident embassy to the Holy See, in addition to our embassy in Tehran and mission in Timor-Leste, was taken by the Government in response to budgetary pressures and on the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which sought to assess where budgetary cuts would least affect the national interest at this time of economic crisis.

In addition to the immediate financial savings, the nature of the responsibilities of the embassy to the Holy See, particularly the fact that it is not involved in consular work or trade promotion, makes it more suitable than most embassies to be covered by non-resident accreditation. Nobody pretends this is an ideal arrangement, but it is the most cost-effective in the current budgetary situation.

The total cost saving in a full year from the closure is estimated at €845,000. Some €400,000 of this will come from the closure of the resident embassy to the Holy See. An additional €445,000 in savings will come from the transfer of Ireland's embassy to Italy from its previous, rented premises to the State-owned Villa Spada.

For what I understand are historical reasons, the Holy See does not accept accreditation from a resident embassy that is also accredited to Italy. It is not acceptable for one ambassador to be accredited to both states, nor is it acceptable for embassies to the Italian Republic and the Holy See to operate from the same address. It would not be possible for the Villa Spada, as presently configured, to accommodate both embassies in different buildings with separate addresses.

The Holy See has agreed to the nomination of the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. David Cooney, as our non-resident ambassador to the Holy See. It is expected that he will present his credentials to Pope Benedict in May. Mr. Cooney has travelled to Rome three times since his nomination for meetings with Vatican officials, and will continue to travel there regularly.

The decision to close the resident embassy to the Holy See will not be reversed in the immediate term. The unavoidable budgetary cuts and the reduction in staff numbers that necessitated the closure are still in effect and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has neither the staff nor the financial resources to reverse the mission closures decided upon by the Government last November. However, as the economic circumstances improve, and in the context of the regular review of our diplomatic network, it may be possible to revisit the matter at some time in the future. If the Vatican is prepared to relax its current requirements so as to allow the State-owned Villa Spada to serve as a location for our embassies to both Italy and the Holy See, that can be taken into account in any future considerations.