Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin has described the Government’s stance on First Holy Communions and Confirmations as a “complete reversal” of an earlier decision made on the issue. The Government has said such ceremonies cannot take place because they may lead to parties afterwards.

Dr Martin also criticised the way that the communication of this new position was handled by the Government and said that it was “very disrespectful how this was done”. It was announced at the end of a press conference in response to a question rather than formally communicated to the Churches beforehand.

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Archbishop Martin said: “There is indeed a lot of confusion here and a lot of frustration and deep disappointment and indeed anger.

“We’ve been deluged with calls from parishes and I know that priests and others have been extremely disappointed by this reversal of the position that was written to us from the Taoiseach’s office from the very beginning of June that said that in line with the gradual reopening of society from 5 July these ceremonies could take place.

“And so, there’s been a huge amount of preparation with the children in their schools with their families.”