Motion passes for 'family ties and proximity of deceased' to area to be a rule at Tipperary graveyard
The motion was passed during the January meeting of the Tipperary/Cahir/Cashel Municipal District, and will now be reviewed by a Strategic Policy Committee
A motion for 'family ties and proximity of deceased' to area to be a rule at a Tipperary graveyard has been passed today.
Cllr Liam Browne had tabled a motion that came before the recent monthly meeting of Tipperary/Cahir/Cashel Municipal District, the motion read:
"That until such time as a new cemetery location in Cashel has been agreed, the council considers existing family ties and proximity of the deceased to Cashel (within 20 miles), when allocating burial plots in the cemetery, save in exceptional circumstances (deceased unknown for example)."
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Cllr Browne started the meeting by saying he was unhappy with the council's answer to his motion, saying: “I get the feeling that the answer isn’t we can’t but more we won’t.
“The reality is what’s happening around Cashel is having a knock-on effect with what’s happening in other communities now. Cashel graveyard is filling up quickly because people are coming from around the country to get buried there, it means that people are not deciding to not get buried in Cashel and instead move to a smaller graveyard and now these are filling up too quickly too. If we can rewrite the by-laws, we can re-write the by-laws. I’d like to know if there’s anything legally stopping what I’m asking to be done.”
Denis Holland of the Environment Section of Tipperary County Council explained that: “There are many graveyards that are not run by a local authority, they could have rules already about the class of persons who are entitled to purchase a grave space. I’m not sure if the council would be so constrained as to say you can buy a plot and you cannot. We need legal advice on that and we must avoid a scenario where we dispose of a plot to a certain individual and then they dispose of that plot to another individual. It’s a matter that requires careful consideration.”
During the meeting the motion was passed and will now be brought to a Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) where they will consider implementing it and make a decision as to whether a review or an amendment to the by-laws is warranted.
Cllr John O’Heney agreed with the motion stating that it was “an amicable solution” to the problem in Cashel.