Civil servants are to hold a series of meetings with representatives of the State's various religious communities over the coming weeks in a bid to finalise formal structures for dialogue between the Government and Ireland's religious communities.
In a statement yesterday the Government said consultations were ongoing and that arrangements for the "final sequence of preparatory meetings" began last week.
"These meetings will explore the agenda to be pursued and arrange the timetable for the meetings with the Government," the statement said. "A formal announcement of the arrangements for the dialogue will follow in a few weeks."
The creation of the forum for dialogue was announced last July by the Government, in line with provisions in the draft EU constitution for formal dialogue structures between member state governments and the faiths operating within them.
Lack of progress since then was highlighted on Sunday by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, who said a formula for the structures had yet to be provided by the Government.
Yesterday Archbishop Martin was supported in his comments by spokesmen for the Church of Ireland and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
However, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said yesterday that "I think Dr Martin can be assured that we will move in relation to this. We want to have a constructive dialogue on an organised basis with churches and faiths, and that's what we will do."
A spokesman for the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, said "he is of the same mind as Archbishop Martin on the matter". He said the Church of Ireland had been contacted soon after last July's announcement, when it welcomed the Government proposals, but that there had been no developments since.
The Presbyterian Church spokesman said something similar had happened where it was concerned. Emphasising the church had a good working relationship with the governments in both parts of Ireland, he said it too was contacted last year and had responded positively to the dialogue proposals from Government, but that there had been "nothing more".
A spokesman for the Islamic Cultural Centre in Dublin said it had been in regular communication with the Government over recent weeks on the matter and was "happy with the progress being made". He emphasised the importance of taking the time to get relevant structures right, particularly in light of delicacies and sensitivities involved.
A spokesman for the Irish Jewish community's Chief Rabbi Dr Yaakov Pealman asked that queries on the subject be e-mailed to his office, which was done. However, there had been no reply by last night.
Earlier yesterday, Mr Ahern defended the Government's record on the establishment of the forum for dialogue. He believed progress was being made and that the forum was a personal priority for the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. "My understanding is that there have been some fairly considerable contacts with the various churches and faiths, but it is something I know the Taoiseach is personally very keen on pushing," he said.
"It's one of the issues in the contexts of the EU constitution, and which was set out in the draft constitution and we were the first country to move on this," he said.