Anger over cuts to burial grounds grants in one district of Tipperary

Caretakers who look after burial grounds in the Clonmel district are “very angry” that their annual grants had been cut from €700 to €600 this year, Cllr Michael Murphy has stated.

He told a meeting of Clonmel Borough District that their anger was such that some of them were thinking about “walking away” from work that generations of their families had carried out.

He said the grants of €700 had been maintained in all of the other districts in the county.

The grants scheme had been oversubscribed in other districts, with additional cemeteries applying, but they had still received their €700 allocation.

The grants were only a token amount and didn’t cover the cost of the actual work.

A total of 26 grants were allocated in the Clonmel district and he appealed for Tipperary County Council to have another look at this so that the caretakers received what they deserved.

Cllr Murphy said that a relatively small amount of money was involved for the burial grounds which included Rathkeevan, Rathronan and Newchapel, among other places.

Cllr Richie Molloy agreed, saying that this work is totally voluntary and that the grant is only a token amount. It was very unfair that the grants were reduced in this area but had stayed the same in other districts.

The caretakers ensured that rural cemeteries in areas such as Derrygrath and Powerstown were maintained in pristine condition.

Cllr Siobhán Ambrose said that the grant had been cut despite the fact that some caretakers maintained three or four graveyards.

The cost of petrol and diesel hadn’t gone down and these people were doing this work on a voluntary capacity. The graveyards would be very unsightly otherwise.

She agreed they should find €100 for each of those groups.

District Mayor Pat English said the council really got value for money from the groups that looked after the cemeteries, and he understood their disappointment. If the council had to do that work major funding would be required.

He expressed thanks to all of the committees in the district.

District Administrator Carol Creighton said that an additional three graveyard committees in the district had applied for grants this year and the environment section of Tipperary County Council hadn’t increased its budget, so the amount allocated to each group had been reduced.

The environment section would widen its budget for next year.

She said they would have a look at this again and she would report back to the members if there was an update.