Irish Embassy and the Vatican

We can't afford one! Get over it.
There are probably a few other embassies that we can't afford either.

Irish-Vatican Embassy building in Rome.

With the huge disconnect that exists among Irish people and the Roman Catholic Church today, why do we need an embassy there (in Rome) anyway? 

[I could think of one reason which might be worthwhile - negotiate the return of funding which the Irish people have been giving to the Vatican for centuries!]