Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Maloney for proposing this Bill, which is an attempt to deal with the cost of funerals and burials which is an issue in Dublin in particular. I know that the costs are very significant for families, many of whom are burdened with large credit union or bank loans. However, in my view the appointment of a regulator to oversee the administration of cemeteries would be a duplication of the supervisory role of local authorities. Some 950 councillors are taking their seats in local authorities around the country and the Minister plans to devolve power to those councils. I am not often at one with the Minister but I agree with him about local authorities having the main role in local administration of cemeteries. There is an issue with how much another quango and regulatory board would cost when money is scarce. The 34 local authorities are in place and they can do that work.

Section 4 of the Bill defines a cemetery authority as "any company, committee or body (other than a local authority or a town or borough council or an ecclesiastical authority)". I ask what are the functions of these new bodies other than commercial activity. I presume the Bill does not propose that cemeteries would be competitive, rather that the ancillary services would be competitive. Other than in a few isolated instances, cemeteries are generally administered by the local authority, by the churches or by committees and that is as it ought to be. We do not want a situation as is found in some other countries where cemeteries become a private industry and funeral companies engage in often lurid attempts to attract business.

I refer to a recent planning application in Cork by an individual seeking to open a private cemetery for the reason that the local graveyard was full and that local people were being forced to bury their deceased relatives a long distance away from their home place. The application sought to have the cemetery on part of the person's own land was turned down by An Bord Pleanála on the grounds that it would constitute a threat to the local water supply and constitute a traffic hazard.

One of the reasons for the refusal of planning permission, although this was not stated by An Bord Pleanála, could be that there is a major resistance on the part of Irish people to the idea that burial grounds should become privately owned. It could be regarded as profiting from the dead as well as profiting from the living.

I refer to the cost of burials. In Portlaoise, a double burial plot costs €600 and a single plot costs €300 while the costs in Dublin are shocking. My relatives in Dublin inform me that the cost of a funeral is a significant burden for families. This Bill does not include provisions about the funeral grant but that grant of €850 was vital for bereaved families. Many constituents have asked me for advice about how to pay for a family funeral. They have to go to community welfare officers and do a round of begging. I ask the Minister to reverse the cutting of the funeral grant which was made to approximately 20,000 families every year and it is a huge loss.

As Deputy Maloney explained well, the Bill is specifically attempting to prevent cemeteries or companies allied to cemeteries from engaging in the sale of headstones, flowers, ornaments or other goods or services. This measure in the Bill is to prevent cemeteries from engaging in unfair competition, as outlined by Deputy Maloney.

Section 2(3)(f) proposes that if a cemetery enjoys charitable status, it should not be allowed to engage in commercial activity other than selling grave plots. I can see the argument in favour of allowing competition for those whose livelihood is based on selling flowers or making gravestones, for example. Businesses have gone out of business, such as a firm in the Glasnevin area.

There is also an argument to be made against cemeteries being allowed to sell flowers within the cemetery itself. These matters can easily be addressed by the local authority. Some of the larger cemeteries sell flowers and such like inside their gates but I have not heard of cemeteries actually selling headstones. Deputy Maloney has explained very well that umbrella companies attached to the cemeteries are selling the headstones. This presents a challenge to legitimate companies. I question whether this legislation, if passed, would stand up under competition legislation. Would the fact that a cemetery was selling headstones and flowers be considered to be unfair on other businesses seeking to provide the same? It may be an unfortunate comparison but Croke Park sells food and drink in its grounds but this is not considered to be unfair competition with pubs and takeaways in the vicinity. Is there a need to examine the legal basis for preventing cemeteries engaging in commercial activity within their own precincts? Perhaps that is something that could be examined if this Bill proceeds to the next Stage and is subject to closer examination.

While I question the need for a cemeteries regulator and new cemetery authorities, I support practical measures in relation to cemeteries, in particular the obligation on cemeteries to ensure the sanctity of the graves under their responsibility and the safety of visitors. There have been numerous reports of cemeteries being used for drinking and drug-taking and also incidences of vandalism and people being mugged in graveyards or mourners' cars being stolen. There is an obligation on the Garda Síochána, local authorities, cemetery bodies and the public in general to ensure that cemeteries do not become centres of such activities. Unfortunately, criminal elements have identified cemeteries as targets so the problem needs to be faced. Given that the Bill proposes to set up what in my view would be another quango to duplicate the functions of local government, I will vote against it. I recognise that the Bill is an earnest attempt to address a particular problem. It proposes a licensing system and the basis for another quango in order to halt commercial activity.

In some counties graveyards are administered by the churches, the local authority or by burial boards known as joint bodies. I suggest that cemeteries not administered by local committees allied to a church body should be brought under local authority control. During my time on a local authority, we passed by-laws relating to cemeteries, some of which were controversial, such as by-laws preventing kerbstones being used in lawn cemeteries, to provide for easy maintenance. County councils have significant powers in this regard and the Minister sitting across the way can give them more powers. It is a significant problem in Dublin.

People in country areas also have problems in this regard. We had a cemetery mass in my locality last Sunday. Issues need to be addressed in the main cemetery in Portlaoise town, which is in great condition and operates under the control of the local authority. The council provides a local committee that helps run the facility with some staff to assist it.

The buck should stop with local authorities, which should be empowered to manage cemeteries. Local authority members would then have a vested interest in ensuring cemeteries were managed properly. Constituents become exercised about the places in which where dead relatives are buried and how well cemeteries are looked after and regulated.

The costs of burial have become a major issue. As Deputy Seán Kenny noted, people like to give their relatives a decent burial. Working class families, in particular, spend large amounts of money burying relatives because they feel they have an obligation to give their loved ones a good and decent burial. I can understand this attitude but the flipside is that families incur large debts which take years to repay. I ask the Minister to raise with his Cabinet colleagues the issue of the funeral grant. While the grant can be as large as one likes, it is of little value if action is not taken to prevent the costs of funerals from increasing. The cost of a funeral in Dublin and certain other areas has spiralled out of control and the issue is not being addressed.

While I understand Deputy Eamonn Maloney's reasons for introducing the Bill, the solution to the problem rests with the new local authorities and municipal districts, which will meet for the first time in the coming weeks. The Minister's party and the Labour Party have the numbers required to ensure the matter is addressed and Sinn Féin will work with them to achieve this. This will require bringing cemeteries under the control of local authorities. Under the 2001 Act and older legislation, local authorities already have the power to pass effective by-laws, as some have done. The way forward is to have by-laws introduced democratically in order that they can be stood over.

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