Ireland said on Saturday it respects the constitutional and territorial integrity of Spain.

"We do not accept or recognize the Catalan unilateral declaration of independence," Ireland's Foreign Department said in a statement.

Spain has stripped the region of its autonomy following its declaration, as well as having sacked Catalan leaders, dissolved the region's parliament and called a regional election for December.

"We are all concerned about the crisis in Catalonia," the statement said, calling for efforts to resolve the crisis "through lawful and peaceful means."

"The resolution of the current crisis needs to be within Spain's constitutional framework and through Spain's democratic institutions," it said.