Churches are still awaiting information on the announced protocol between the Government and religious bodies about the numbers that may attend religious services, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said on Thursday.

He said that “the new Northern Ireland advice is that the number should be calculated on the basic of proportionality to the size of each church whereas in the Republic of Ireland a blanket cap of 50 people is still in place”.

This limit in the Republic, which has been applied in churches since last Monday, had been “working, albeit with some difficulty”, he said, but “priests around the country” were concerned about what might happen next Sunday.

The 50-person limit for each Mass in the Republic, he said, “would mean turning many people away or having them remain outside where social distancing is more problematic”.