Cormac Devlin, Fianna Fail’s Dublin spokesman, has accused Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown county council of adding to the suffering of bereaved people by prohibiting work on headstones in its cemeteries, contrary to pandemic rules.
“These people have already been impacted by restrictions on the numbers attending funerals and now, to add insult to injury, find they cannot have the grave completed as they wish,” the Dun Laoghaire TD said.
“It’s the view of the minister for health and of the tanaiste that this work is deemed exempt from the restrictions, and the issue needs to be resolved urgently.”
The council has barred stonemasons and monumental sculptors from working in its cemeteries at Shanganagh and Deansgrange since December. The two graveyards cater for about three funerals a day.
Leo Varadkar, the tanaiste, told the Dail on March 11 that he understood such work was allowed under Covid-19 rules but he would “double check”.
Last week his spokesman said: “The Department of Housing has confirmed it is permitted to have headstones placed on the graves of loved ones, regardless of which local authority they are based in. The tanaiste welcomes this clarification as this work is particularly important during these difficult times when we cannot grieve as we normally would.”
The County and City Management Association of local authorities has instructed its members that “it is appropriate to facilitate the erection of headstones” during the lockdown.
The council said it did not impose the ban because of the level five restrictions but to keep its workers and the public safe.
“To do this we have had to limit the number of staff and support workers on site each day,” it said.
