Dermot Ahern makes stem cell resarch pledge to Pope

The Government will ban any EU funding for stem cell research in Ireland, the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister told the Pope today.

During a private audience in Rome, Dermot Ahern told Pope Benedict XVI that much of the state’s social policy centres on the family and the role it plays in society.

Speaking after the lunchtime meeting in the Vatican, the Louth TD said the Government respected the decision of other EU members states to carry our stem cell research.

But he said: “Under the current Framework Programme, Ireland did not object to the EU funding human embryonic stem cell research in member states where it is legal and deemed ethical, that is, where the core principle of respecting ’ethical subsidiarity’ was guaranteed.

“In line with our support for ethical subsidiarity, we insist that no EU funding shall be allowed for embryonic stem cell research in Ireland.

“The corollary of this is, however, that we have to respect the right of other Member States to follow their own consciences in this matter. We appreciate the deep sensitivities that arise in this area, on both sides of the argument.

“However, we would be unable to prevent embryonic stem cell research going ahead in many Member States.”

The Pope is expected to give a significant speech on the role of the family in the modern world in coming days.

Mr Ahern also briefed His Holiness on the current situation in Northern Ireland in advance of tomorrow’s meeting between the political parties, Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The minister later met with Archbishop Goivanni Lajolo, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States.

UN reform and the continuing hunt for the murderers in Burundi of Nenagh-born Archbishop Michael Courtney were also discussed today.

The Government will urge an international commission of inquiry if an official Burundian investigation fails to make any further progress, Mr Ahern said.