Contract documents are being drawn up for the sale of the Church of Ireland-owned Bishop's Palace in Kilkenny to the Government. It is to become a permanent home for the Heritage Council.
The price is believed to be between £800,000 and £1 million.
A supplementary estimate was passed in the Dail last week providing the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, with funding to purchase it.
The sale is being handled for the Church of Ireland by the representative church body in Dublin. Bishops' residences are not diocesan property but are held in trust by the representative church body.
A feasibility study on a plan to turn the palace into a permanent home for the Heritage Council was conducted last year and its findings were favourable.
It follows controversy within the church about the sale of the 12th-century building. The palace has been home to the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cashel and Ossory for 600 years and is a listed building. It is protected by the Heritage Act 2000, making it difficult to carry out any internal work on the structure.
At this year's Church of Ireland General Synod in Dublin delegates from the diocese called for the sale to be rejected. Proposing the motion, Mr Johnny Couchman said the palace had been a home to bishops since 1453, "before the fall of Constantinople, before Martin Luther and before the Reformation".
He queried the estimated sale price of about £1 million, saying a local auctioneer had said to him "God, Johnny, knock it and I'll give you £3 million an acre." The palace was in excellent condition, he said. The motion was defeated by 209 votes to 99.
But diocesan procedures leading to a decision to sell the palace were referred for review to the court of the General Synod. It is unlikely that its findings will have a bearing on the sale.
Under the terms of the deal the Heritage Council will purchase the palace and "upper garden".
The church has had discussions with Kilkenny Corporation on plans for a new bishop's residence.