Confirmation that Eurostat had rejected Ireland's application for Objective 1 funding has been described as "disastrous but not surprising" by opposition politicians and interested groups.
Fine Gael's finance spokesman, Mr Michael Noonan, described the decision as "a serious blow" to the expectation that 15 counties could retain Objective 1 status and enjoy additional structural funds and increased grants for industry.
"The Government's case was built on sand, was motivated by political considerations and the precarious arithmetic of Dail Eireann, rather than by social or economic considerations for the people of the counties concerned," he added.
He accused the Government of "botching" the negotiations and called for the immediate publication of the letter received from Eurostat by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.
Accusing the Government of being "too clever by half", Labour's spokesman on finance, Mr Derek McDowell, claimed it had put its own political survival before the national interest.
"The blatant attempt to squeeze Europe till the pips squeak while banking large Budget surpluses at home have been key factors in the rapidly-changing European attitude to this country," he added.
However, nobody who knew anything about the seriousness with which the EU regarded regionalisation could be surprised, he said.
The Green Party MEP for Leinster, Ms Nuala Ahern, said the Government was reaping the reward of treating regionalisation as a political football game. It had "discredited Ireland's name in Europe", she added.
Responding to opposition criticism, Fianna Fail's Mr Brendan Kenneally TD said "political opportunism" was at play. He was "disappointed" that Mr Noonan would attempt to make political capital out of Eurostat's response.
"Greater political unity is vital at this extremely important time for Ireland when we are at a crucial stage of the CAP Agenda 2000 negotiations," he added.
Ms Marian Harkin, chairwoman of the 12-County Committee for the Retention of Objective One Status, claimed that the Government's "last-minute deficient application" had resulted in the negative response from Europe.
"The ineptitude of the application was undoubtedly exacerbated by the Government's decision to put forward the weakest possible proposal for devolved administration," she said.