'Kildare County Council should take over cemetery from HSE'
Kildare County Council (KCC) has been urged to take control of a cemetery which is located within the Athy Municipal District (MD) and is currently owned by the HSE .
The request was made by Labour Party Cllr Aoife Breslin at the latest MD meeting, which took place on Monday, October 12 last.
Specifically, Cllr Breslin motioned for KCC to seek permission from KCC to take ownership of St Mary’s Cemetery.
Her motion was seconded by Fianna Fáil Cllr Brian Dooley.
Explaining the reasoning behind her motion, Cllr Breslin said that the site contains the remains of several people who have been ‘forgotten’ over the decades.
She added: “These people have been left down, and any if there is any possibility to make amends for what happened in the past [to lead to their memories being forgotten], then we should take it.”
Cllr Breslin’s sentiments were echoed by Cllr Dooley, who told KCC: “At the moment, there is no great dignity there for those who were buried.”
Shortly after this, Cllr Breslin also told KCC that while the matter had been raised previously, but she feels as if the HSE has been continuously ‘kicking the can down the road’ when it came to the proposed transfer of ownership of the cemetery.
However, in response to Cllr Breslin’s motion, KCC said: “KCC does not have the resources to take on the responsibility for any additional cemeteries in the county, and it is therefore advised that the cemetery should remain under the HSE’s remit.”
Despite this, a representative of KCC, who was also present at the meeting, asserted that they would look at a potential costing in relation to KCC potentially taking over the site.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.