Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Vatican embassy dual use 'possible'

Diplomatic efforts are underway to seek agreement from the Vatican to use the former Irish Embassy as a location for embassies to Italy and to the Holy See.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore has said the non-resident Ambassador, department secretary general David Cooney, was having discussions with the Vatican authorities to see if agreement could be reached about both cohabiting in the same building.

“One of the difficulties we had was the insistence by the Vatican that we had to have two separate ambassadors, two separate embassies, two separate buildings. In our present financial circumstances I didn’t think that was sustainable,” Mr Gilmore told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

Mr Cooney told the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee that he was having discussions with Vatican authorities about the use of the State-owned Villa Spada.

“That will take time. And, one of the things that he advised the committee yesterday was the necessity for him to be allowed to do that work behind the scenes which is where diplomatic effort is more effective," Mr Gilmore said. “I’ve always said that if the Vatican do that (agree) that obviously we will look at the situation again."

In February, Mr Gilmore said the Government’s decision not to have a resident ambassador would “not be reversed in the immediate term”.

Earlier last month, a motion to reopen the embassy was defeated at the Labour Party conference in Galway.

Delegates rejected a recommendation from Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Joe Costello to refer the motion to the party’s central council and then went on to vote it down on a show of hands.