Cost of dying crisis in Wexford as council reveals huge price disparity for plots across county’s cemeteries

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

While the cost-of-living crisis has been well-documented, it appears that residents of County Wexford must now also contend with a cost-of-dying crisis. At the council’s annual budget meeting, held in County Hall, it was revealed that burial sites in Crosstown and St Stephen’s Cemetery in New Ross are significantly cheaper than those throughout the rest of Co Wexford.

At Crosstown, outside Wexford town, a two burial plot costs €260 while a three burial plot is €400. And at St Stephen’s a single plot is €500 while a double is €1,000. This is in contrast to the rest of the county where a flat rate of €1,000 for a single plot and €2,000 for a double plot applies across the board.

Upon learning of these figures, Bunclody councillor Barbara-Anne Murphy described the council’s policy as “inequitable”.

“We will all die, that’s the one thing we’re sure of, and this cost hits you right at the time when you’re most vulnerable,” she said. “It’s totally inequitable that someone in Enniscorthy has to pay €1,000 for a plot while it’s €260 in Wexford for the same.”

Explaining why certain graveyards had different costings for burial plots, chief executive Eddie Taaffe said the charges had originally evolved from the now abolished town councils.

“Crosstown is lower is because it’s a very busy graveyard so our costs would be lower there,” he added. “But if there’s a sense it’s inequitable I have no issue with raising charges. We would have to increase costs right across the board, though, and increasing the costs in Crosstown would affect a lot of people.”

While those in other areas had to worry about the price of a burial plot when their loved ones pass, Cllr Pat Barden revealed that those in his native Adamstown had no such fears.

“There’s no charges in Adamstown to be buried as the cemetery was donated to the community by a very generous man, so if you’re ever in trouble Adamstown is the spot,” he said.

By no means finished, Cllr Murphy re-entered the conversation with a proposal which proved grossly unpopular with many of her colleagues.

“There’s a lot of people in this county who live outside Wexford town and New Ross, this is terribly unfair, “ she said. “I propose we increase the prices so it’s the same across the county: €1,000 for a single and €2,000 for a double.”

Not surprisingly the councillors representing the Wexford Borough District were not enamoured by this proposal. Both Cllrs Raymond Shannon and Tom Forde voiced their opposition before Cllr Biddy Walsh just about stopped short of saying it would happen over her dead body.

“The borough councillors will be completely against this,” she said. “You can’t just suddenly double the cost for people. It’s not right and it won’t be happening.”

Now wholly under siege, Cllr Murphy faced further criticism from New Ross councillor Michael Sheehan.

“I would be horrified that, during a time of great sensitivity and weakness for the bereaved, we were seeking to increase costs for burials, it’s an awful, awful message from an elected member,” he said.

“So we’re lesser beings in the rest of the county?” asked Cllr Murphy.

She finally found support from Cllr Oliver Walsh who agreed that the current system was inherently unbalanced.

“To me it’s a very unfair system, it needs to be looked at,” he said. “I’m not necessarily saying we increase the costs on anyone but I will second the proposal.”

A counter-proposal, from Cllr John Fleming, that costs be reduced everywhere else in the county instead of increased in two graveyards was not seen as a viable solution.

“I’m always looking for funding to cut the grass at graveyards and various maintenance works, all these things need to be funded,” contended Cllr Walsh. “If we had a level playing field the extra money could be spent all around the county.”

Reassuring the councillors that no changes could be passed without further review, the chief executive said the elected representatives would, however, have the final say on the cost of being buried in Wexford.

“Our issue is that we have to maintain a level of overall funding across the county, how that funding is generated is up to the members to decide,” said Mr Taaffe. “We can compile a report on the level of activity in each graveyard and the cost of each, and what any changes would mean in terms of the council’s finances.

"We don’t need to make a decision on this today. We’ll return with a report in the summer of 2026, but any changes will have to go through the by-law process. Whatever decision is made here will have to then go to the public.”

As someone who has recently lost two members of her immediate family, Cllr Aoife Rose O’Brien was more qualified than most to discuss the cost of laying loved ones to rest, and she estimated the cost of an average funeral to be between €8,000-10,000.

"I’ve been through this twice lately in family and it’s not easy. I would not support any type of increase. We should be looking at a decrease to help families,” she said.

The final word went to Cllr Jim Codd who noted, with bitter irony, that even in death there was someone looking to lighten your wallet.

“There seems to be an appetite here that we should all suffer equally, we already have a cost of living crisis let’s not extend it into death as well.”