The Government has scrapped the Certificate of Irish Heritage.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs says interest in the certificates - which were sold to members of the diaspora for €45 - was significantly less than anticipated, with approximately only 3,000 certificates sold since the 2011 launch.

Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Tom Cruise are among the figures who were given the certificates - which the Department says were 'never anticipated to provide significant revenue to the Government.'

The Department says their own outlay on the project has been roughly €3,800 - mostly relating to website costs and travel costs to meet with representatives of FEXCO, the company in charge of administering the programme.

No further certs will be available to buy after next Monday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is conducting more analysis on how members of the diaspora can assert their identity.