Irish Vatican embassy to close

THE Government is to close Ireland’s embassy to the Vatican but has denied that the decision was taken because of the fallout from the Cloyne Report.

Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore insisted the move was aimed at saving money — not a statement of the Government’s displeasure with the Vatican.

Relations between the Government and the Vatican thawed after Taoiseach Enda Kenny delivered a blistering denunciation of the Church following the publication of the Cloyne Report in July.