Council accused of 'disrespect' for relying on community groups to clean up Cork graveyards

A tense debate in Cork County Council demanded more money be spent on maintaining graveyards, with complaints of rubbish, discarded wreaths and high grass in many areas

Cork county councillors have accused the local authority of abdicating its responsibility for maintaining many graveyards properly.  Picture: Andy Gibson

Cork county councillors have accused the local authority of abdicating its responsibility for maintaining many graveyards properly, which they say is showing disrespect for the dead and those left grieving for them.

There was a lengthy debate in County Hall after two councillors proposed that far more money must be spent on graveyard maintenance across the county and that many voluntary and community groups have been forced to take up the slack because the council isn’t doing what it should.

Disgrace

Fine Gael councillor Karen Coakley said she recently visited St Patrick’s Cemetery in Skibbereen and described it as “a disgrace.” Ms Coakley said the council has a responsibility to maintain the 261 burial grounds under its control, especially as people are paying a lot of money to buy plots in many of them.

“Some cemeteries are kept in a good state of repair, but that’s down to voluntary workers. Our communities deserve much better,” she said.

Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll claimed the council is abdicating its responsibility by getting Tidy Towns groups to clean up town centres and voluntary groups to tidy up graveyards.

“We are sick and tired of bringing this subject up. This is about dignity and respect”

“The council is charging a fee for the plot and there’s an implication in that, I believe, that the graveyards would be maintained (with this money),” Fine Gael councillor John O’Sullivan said.

He said the maintenance budget for graveyards annually is €3.26m.

“We will have to find more money from elsewhere to maintain proper standards,” he said.

Access

Independent councillor Paul Hayes said the elderly can’t access some graveyards because of uneven footpaths and undertakers in Timoleague had to cut the grass themselves before some funerals because it was up to two feet high in places.

“We (the council) have to do a hell of a lot better,” he said.

Fine Gael councillor John Paul O’Shea said all council-controlled graveyards are supposed to be cut at least twice a year, but that’s not happening, especially in the older ones.

Discarded old wreaths and other rubbish was piling up in several cemeteries because it wasn’t regularly removed by council staff, Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath said.

“This is highly disrespectful. There is a big issue with maintenance, there’s no question about it. I think we should have a caretaker in charge of a small number of cemeteries. We need to increase our outdoor staff as well. It will require boots on the ground to address this issue.” 

Paltry pay

Both Independent councillor Alan Coleman and Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty maintained that caretakers were being paid “paltry money” by the council and when they retire others don’t want to take up the job because of this.

Deputy county mayor, Labout councillor Cathal Rasmussen, agreed with councillors that more money will have to be allocated to graveyard maintenance when meet to hammer out their annual budget later in the year.