Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)

Deputy Broughan does a considerable service in bringing forward this Bill. Until I read the Bill and received other information, I was unaware there is no legislation to regulate the establishment and operation of crematoria and some graveyards. It was a particular inappropriate planning application for a private burial ground and crematorium on the grounds of a nursing home in his own constituency that brought the lack of regulation to light.

I was surprised and appalled to see there are no barriers to entry and no licensing in an industry that is responsible for the burial and cremation of 30,000 people every year. It seems as if anyone can set up in this business. There is a mixture of full-time and part-time funeral operators in the country. There seem to be no regulations or standards in the area of embalming, where there are often untrained personnel and inadequate premises. Cremation, which has become more popular, is also not governed by specific laws or regulation.

Crematoria are following UK legislation and best practice but there is no obligation on them to do that, so there is, obviously, a need for this legislation. I believe the Bill is in the public interest.

Funerals and the ceremonies associated with them are part of every society and in Irish society we have a great respect and understanding for people at these difficult times. We also have great respect for burial grounds. If one walks into any Irish graveyard during a weekend, coming up to Christmas or Easter or at anniversaries or particular occasions, one sees families and friends tending graves, planting shrubs or bringing flowers. They are remembering their loved ones in death and honouring them in that way. In my own experience, the graves of my relatives and friends in the Dublin area are well tended and looked after. It causes great anguish and anxiety to people when graves are desecrated.

Regulation of crematoria is vital from an environmental point of view, owing to mercury emissions produced by dental amalgam in human remains. In preparing for this debate, I learned that in many European countries emissions from crematoria are now a major source of mercury emissions. Other ways to treat dental amalgam waste are covered by EU law but emissions from crematoria are not. This is something else to be tackled. There are also various newer approaches to dealing with human remains. These could also be a subject for debate.

The Bill contains some technical details relating to the proposed burial and cremation regulatory authority. The details on the roles, resignations and removal of members are straightforward. However, I am concerned about the bugbear of expenses. I agree that regulation is necessary and that an authority is necessary but I do not want to support legislation that could create another quango. We have enough of them.

The national council of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland has a model of licensing for funeral directors involving payment of a levy by funeral directors into a central fund. This self-financing model is similar to one in operation in Ontario, Canada, for the past 30 years. The proposal is that the levy would be paid by funeral directors in exchange for official certification and licensing. The levy would go into a fund which would finance the operation of an office which would regulate the funeral industry. The industry must be regulated according to the number of funerals a funeral director organises. Population is a major factor. Some areas such as the greater Dublin area have many more funerals than take place in other parts of the country with smaller populations. The difficulty is that the payment of the levy by funeral directors could result in an additional cost to individual funeral bills, which would not be desirable. The suggestion is that the levy would be €25 per funeral. Based on 30,000 deaths per year that would realise more than €700,000. I hope if such a levy were to be introduced that it could be absorbed by funeral directors and not by bereaved families.

It was said that the average cost of a funeral in Dublin is approximately €4,500. From my experience of organising funerals it is considerably more, while it is slightly less outside the greater Dublin area. Graves account for a considerable part of funeral expenses. Standard plots in Dublin are between €1,500 and €5,000. I cannot understand why it costs almost the same to open an existing grave as it does to open a new grave. Some funeral directors in the Dublin Central area have been most supportive of families who have been unable to cover the cost of funerals. I know of families in some communities that are struggling badly to cover the costs, in particular in the case of the deaths of young people.

We are somewhat spoiled in the area I represent - Dublin Central - because we have long-standing funeral directors who are all full time and who provide a professional service. I refer to Stafford's, Kirwan's and Jennings'. They have put resources into their funeral parlours although if anyone could use the word "nice" about a funeral parlour some of those fit the description. They are quiet, dignified places that allow families privacy and dignity. The way in which those undertakers have handled funeral arrangements at difficult times has been second to none.

Deputy Broughan addressed issues on the planning of new crematoria and graveyards. I hope the proposed authority will follow proper planning procedures because we have enough examples of irregular planning in this country. It is important that the rules and procedures relating to the maintenance and running of crematoria and graveyards are set down and followed.

In the Dublin area, Glasnevin Cemetery does a phenomenal job of looking after the graves. The cemetery has a lot of historic graves, ones which are of great interest to everyone. I am impressed with the museum that it has set up and the various walkways, which add something to the cemetery.

In the context of burials, I have been involved in cilliní. I acknowledge the work of archaeologist and anthropologist, Toni Maguire, who has been doing great work in this area. She uncovered thousands of cilliní in the diocese of Down and Connor. She is now working in Milltown Cemetery. She stresses the social importance of preserving cilliní, which involve burials carried out in secret. In some cases the babies were not baptised or some other issue arose in connection with the death. The families tried to bury the children as close to consecrated ground as they could and that must be respected. I wished to take the opportunity to make that point. Perhaps the authority could take it on board and the walls associated with crematoria could accommodate a space for the cilliní.

Another group of people of whom I am aware from my involvement with them are the ladies who lived in the Magdalene Laundries. They had no dignity in life and, unfortunately, in some cases they do not have any dignity in death. Again, perhaps the proposed authority could play a role in ensuring there is a proper memorial to those ladies who are buried in various graveyards throughout the country and that we could get rid of the word "penitents" in the graveyard in Galway.

There are examples of international best practice in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom where this area is subject to regulation. Questions arise in terms of the role of local authorities in that regard but I support the proposal in the Bill for another authority, one that will take the issues on board and get involved in licensing and regulation. I support the Bill.

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