The total number of priests, nuns, and brothers in the Catholic Church in Ireland has slumped by more than 2,000 in just four years.
Figures published in the first annual report of the Catholic Communications Office show that in 1999 the country had 19,517 ordained and finally professed personnel, but by last year this had declined to 17,355.
The fall is set to accelerate in the next few years because a great majority of priests and nuns are over the age of 65 and because the number of ordinations is now so low.
Last year there were just 19 ordinations to the diocesan priesthood and 11 to religious orders, according to the report.
In 1999 these figures were 34 and nine respectively, although the 2003 figures for diocesan ordinations showed a slight rise over those in 2002, when the dioceses received 16 new ordinations.
The fall in the number of Church personnel was particularly steep between 1999 and 2001, when it plunged by almost 1,400.
It fell by another 600 in 2002, according to the report, though by only seven in 2003.
But this is likely only a temporary lull in the downward trend. This is because the bulk of priests, nuns, and brothers serving the Church were ordained in the second and third quarters of the last century and are now over 60 years of age. For example, in 1965 there were a massive 1,375 vocations to the priesthood and religious life. By 2000, this had plummeted to 61.
The figures also show that more than half of Church personnel in the country are nuns.
Two years ago the breakdown in personnel was as follows: 3,289 diocesan priests; 3,476 religious order priests; 747 brothers; and 9,849 nuns.
The dramatic fall in numbers is already biting into Church services. Religious orders are leaving some of their traditional houses as they are forced to retrench.
Dioceses are beginning to 'cluster' parishes and cut back on the number of Masses to cope with declining numbers of priests.
Priests will share responsibilities across a number of parishes because the days when a parish automatically had several dedicated priests is gone.
Earlier this year, the Franciscans announced the withdrawal of full-time resident friars from six locations. Whereas in 1970 the order had 400 friars, today it has only 120, with just six in training.
Most of the 140 religious orders in Ireland are attracting no vocations and have no-one in training.
Only a handful are bucking the trend, including the Dominicans, the Redemptorists and the Mercy Sisters.