Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The death of a family member is one of the most raw and emotional times anybody will experience. Funerals are very difficult at any time but during Covid-19, for many, they have been a complete disaster. At the moment, attendance at funerals can be a lottery for family members. We have reports from around the country of local priests refusing access to a church to family members on the death of their loved ones. This is having a devastating effect on families. It is well-known psychologically that the grieving process is very important and if it does not happen at the right time, those issues can remain with people for the rest of their lives. The strange thing about this is that in most towns the church is the biggest building. Ten people would be lost in most churches. People are being refused access to a church for a funeral but can go across to the local Aldi or another retail outlet and queue up for crisps and wine, along with 12, 13 or 14 other people. That does not make sense.

I understand it is not an easy job for the Taoiseach to balance all of the rights in this regard. However, Ireland is an outlier in how restrictive it is regarding religious and funeral services. Only two other countries are as restrictive as Ireland is on funerals. Will the Taoiseach consider allowing churches to open for religious services on Easter Sunday? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the practice of religion is a human right. Even for people without a faith, the importance of faith is very obvious on a human rights basis alone.

In recent days, faith leaders have said they were disappointed with the absence of return to them, via the Taoiseach, on the issues they have raised.

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