Classes in a Dublin primary school have been given 'loyalty card'-style books to log their mass attendance in the run-up to their First Holy Communion.

The initiative, brought forward by St Kevin's Church and implemented by St Kevin's Girls National School in Tallaght sees children preparing for their Communion getting a stamp in a passport-style book for every week they attend a Mass service.

Passports were given out at Mass on Sunday.

Councillor for Tallaght Central Charlie O'Connor said it was "a novel idea" and that the idea has been warmly welcomed.

"They're [St. Kevin's Church] trying to make it normal", he said on High Noon. "It should be part of the normal routine that a youngster of 7 or 8 years of age feels comfortable about going to church [...] Mass and ceremonies should be about that.

"It's an initiative that hopefully will be duplicated."

However, Sinn Féin Councillor Brendan Ferron disagreed with the use of a "scorecard" when it came to the children's mass attendance.

"It's probably putting a bit of a worry on some of the parents and some of the children that if they don't get these cards stamped and go to enough masses that they might be excluded from making their Communion [...] At a later age they develop their own consciousness with regard to religion and whether they want to continue believing in Catholicism."

Calls to St. Kevin's Church and St. Kevin's Girls National School were not returned at the time of writing.