Ireland’s Catholic bishops are speeding up preparations to re-open churches for public Masses in case this is allowed to happen sooner than the July 20th date set in the current Government roadmap.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said on Monday that the Government would be constantly evaluating progress in reopening society and “it is important that we as Church are ready to respond to any change in the current proposed timescale”.

He said all over Ireland, parishes have been working on plans to open their Churches as soon as it is safe to do so.

“The Irish Bishops pooled suggestions from each diocese and drew up a first Draft Framework document. The Standing Committee of the Conference examined this Framework today and has now moved towards producing a shorter and sharper document, with checklists to enable parishes to monitor where they are on the path forward. That should be available in the next days,” he added.

The Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin also released a statement asking that all “work closely with your priests so that your parish stands ready to respond quickly when the public health authorities tell us it is safe to begin gathering together again for Mass inside our churches”.