Dublin’s Catholic Archdiocese has offered its former seminary at Clonliffe College in Drumcondra for the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees.

It is estimated the facility could hold up to 620 people. A spokesman told The Irish Times that preparatory work would be necessary which could take some weeks.

Separately, parishes across the country have raised more than €3.25 million in collections in aid of Ukraine. Most of it was raised in a single weekend in late March.

Speaking on Morning Ireland on Friday, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh said former retreat centres and other religious buildings would also be made available to provide accommodation, with “30 to 40” religious congregations offering rooms.

In some cases the buildings “may need a bit of work” but that people had been offering their services. It also might not be appropriate for shared accommodation to be offered in parochial houses, but in some circumstances priests had moved out to share with other clergy to make accommodation available.