PROPOSED changes in the Bye Laws governing the operation and management of graveyards in the city are being questioned by Cllr Joe Leddin.
Pleased that until further clarification is received, the bye-laws have been postponed, Cllr Leddin is nevertheless concerned about proposals to transfer ownership of graves from the families who purchased plots to the city council, if the graves are not maintained.
“There are many families who for a variety of reasons may not be able to maintain original family graves that have been in their ownership for generations,” he said.
“I do not support the proposal that the city council would, after publication of so doing in the local press, transfer ownership of those graves that have fallen into disrepair, without first engaging in a detailed process of trying to identify and contact family members.”
More appropriate, according to the city south councillor, is that the council should carry out appropriate remedial works to graves that have fallen into a neglected state, “without the necessity to take ownership of the grave from particular families.”
Making the point that in the current economic climate many young people are leaving home to work abroad, Cllr Leddin said that if an when they return, possibly in 40 or 50 years time, they wish to be buried in existing family graves originally purchased by parents or grandparents, that should be allowed.
“I’m pleased that the draft proposed cemetery Bye Laws have been postponed, pending further clarification of the nature and type of works that the city council may wish to carry out on certain graves, but I believe that ownership must remain with those families who originally purchased the graves,” he said.
