The Government should establish a consulate in Belfast, Sir Reg Empey, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, has urged after it emerged that the Department of Foreign Affairs is building a £3.4 million house for its officials based in the city.
The building, currently under construction at Notting Hill off the Malone Road in south Belfast, one of the prime residential sites in Northern Ireland, will house Irish officials who work at the British-Irish Secretariat, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday.
A spokeswoman said a report that it would be an official residence for the Taoiseach was wrong.
Secretariat staff have previously stayed in hotels or in apartments, but when work is completed they will have a secure, gated residence.
The house will have six bedrooms, nine lavatories, a gym and a library, it was reported yesterday.
Sir Reg said it appeared that Irish taxpayers were "footing the bill for a multi-million luxury pad" in Belfast.
"What exactly is the status of this property? I think the Irish Government should be open about this. This property was purchased some time ago, yet only now is this getting into the public domain. Why the element of secrecy? How many properties do the Irish government own in Northern Ireland?"
"In reality what the Irish government should be building is a consulate - similar to what they have in other UK cities," said the UUP leader.