New strategy adopted on burial grounds in Tipperary

Tipperary county councillors have adopted a new policy on burial grounds that could see the development of a new or extended cemetery to serve the parish of Puckane.

Speaking at the April meeting of the council in Clonmel, senior engineer in the Environment Section, Denis Holland, said no funds were provided by central government for extending existing council-owned cemeteries, or for purchasing sites to develop new cemetries.

Mr Holland said the increasing population meant the council had to plan ahead to develop new cemeteries and extend others where capacity was running out. There were 250 graveyards owned by the local authority spread throughout the county, but more were needed.

He said legislation dating back to 1878 was still “the bible” when it came to how burial grounds are developed. Up to 1994, no planning permission had been required to develop a burial ground, but this had since changed.

Mr Holland said it can be very difficult for the council to find suitable sites for new burial grounds, and such sites were expensive. In past times people frequently donated land, but that was unlikely to be the case in the modern era.

The new draft plan presented to council on burial grounds set out criteria on how they should be developed into the future. The plan was adopted by elected members. Mr Holland said the plan showed a commitment by the council to continue to provide grounds for graves in future decades.

The development of a new cemetery for Puckane is one of the aims set out in the plan. Graveyards had to be developed in areas were there was currently limited capacity, said Mr Holland.

GRANT

He added that the council could provide a maximum grant €50,000 to communities for the development of new cemeteries. It was intended to implement the new policy plan from May.

Cllr David Dunne said he knew many single people who wished to be interred in the same plot as their parents. He said the council should do everything possible to ensure that the it did not prevent this. He felt there should be no obstacle to interring ashes in grave plots that were already deemed to be full. Many single people did not want to be buried alone and wanted to rest with the remains of parents.

Cllr Eddie Moran welcomed plans for a new burial ground in Borrisoleigh. He also hoped that funds could be found to develop more capacity at the graveyard beside Templeree, outside Templemore, as there was now no more space for graves on the existing site.

Asked by Cllr Niall Dennehy if the council would consider the development of a crematorium in Tipperary, Mr Holland said the local authority was not inclined to do so. Crematoria were traditionally developed by private companies - one of these proposed developments already having been refused by An Bord Pleanala at Clerihan, Clonmel in 1994.

Cllr Michael O’ Meara urged the council to increase its grant to burial ground committees from the current €650 to €1,000. A number of other councillors supported the call.

Cllr Jim Ryan asked the council to take action against thefts from cemeteries. He said statues, lights, flowers and other items were being stolen from Saint Patrick’s Cemetery in Thurles.

Council Director Eamon Lonergan said the council had no intention to put up CCTV cameras to tackle vandalism in graveyards. It would be up to the gardaí to police such matters.

Meanwhile, Mr Holland said the new policy included plans to develop special plots in cemeteries for urns. The development of columbarium walls to facilitate urns was also built into the new policy.

Mr Holland said the council would continue to engage with people who has specific wishes in regard to where they wanted to be interred.

There might have been rigid rules in the past when it came to issues such as the existing “fullness” of a plot, but this was no longer the case.