Cllrs say inflation is adversely affecting North Tipp graveyard committees

Graveyard committees are being adversely affected because of inflation and the cost of living crisis, the Councillors of Nenagh Municipal District pointed out during their April monthly meeting.
A motion was submitted to the meeting by all nine councillors in the MD, and passed, which called on the County Council to increase the allocation to each graveyard committee in North Tipperary to €1,000 in the Annual Budget 2026 returns.
“In light of the tremendous work carried out by the graveyard committees around the county,” the motion said, “we are requesting that the Annual revenue budget increase the allocated amount to €1,000 per committee. The graveyard grounds have in the most part seen a significant improvement with a lot of voluntary work being done by local volunteers. Graveyards by their nature are areas where people can remember their loved ones in a serene and dignified manner and it is important that the grounds are preserved to a good standard. Also graveyards are tourist and historical reference centres which attract a lot of visitors into our county.”
Cllr Michael O'Meara told the Midland Tribune that the current grant given by the Council to each graveyard committee is €700. He said many people in the committees are telling him that this is nowhere near enough.
He pointed out that any committee, no matter their religious denomination, can apply to the Council for the annual grant. “People are very happy to get the money,” he remarked, “and put it to great use. Many take great pride in their graveyards and all these committees keep their graveyards in good condition. However, more money is badly needed. Another problem is that it is also becoming more difficult to get more people to join the committees, with the result that the workload is falling on fewer and fewer shoulders.”
The Councillor said the matter will also be discussed during a future Tipperary County Council meeting and the Councillors will call on the Finance department in the Council to agree to increase the funding to €1,000 during the drawing up of the next Budget, which will be adopted in the Autumn.