Mags GarganGovernment spending on Ireland’s embassy to Italy continued to increase despite claims one of the key reasons the Vatican embassy was shut down was to reduce expense at the other Rome embassy.
Ireland’s embassy to the Holy See reopened late last year just three years after then Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore announced the closure.
As part of the downgrade of relations with the Vatican, the embassy to Italy was transferred to the Villa Spada which had housed the Holy See mission. At the time, Mr Gilmore insisted this would result in significant savings on the expense of the embassy to Italy.
However, figures compiled by The Irish Catholic show that spending in Rome continued to increase despite the closure of the Vatican embassy.
In 2011, the year the Vatican closure was announced, the embassy to Italy cost €1,146,284 to run.
The following year this had risen to €1,234,144. In 2013, there was a saving of €294,565 when costs fell to €939,579. But, latest figures for 2014 reveal that the embassy to Italy now costs €1,356,399. This is almost €200,000 a year more than when the embassy took over the Holy See site on the pretext of making extensive savings.
New figures provided by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, reveal that it cost the State just €32,461 to operate the recently reopened embassy at the Holy See last year.