Ireland sends the Russians

The Government has announced it will expel a Russian diplomat following a Garda investigation that concluded Russian intelligence agents stole the identities of six Irish citizens to produce fake Irish passports used by members of a spy ring uncovered in the US last year.

"The Garda Síochána report concludes that there is an entirely persuasive picture of Russian intelligence service involvement in the manufacture and use of false documents based on the acquisition of details of six genuine passports belonging to Irish citizens," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, according to Irish Times.

The Russian ambassador was told during a meeting with the department's secretary-general that the diplomat would be expelled.

"The ambassador was also told that the accreditation of a named member of his staff with diplomatic status is to be terminated, in line with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the statement added.

"The government, by today's action, has once again made clear that it will not tolerate the fabrication and use of forged Irish passports by agents of a foreign state," Herald Sun reports.