Cemetery plot and burial charges to rise by 45% over two years

By Rebekah O'Reilly & Kate Pendred

The cost of dying is set to rise significantly for anyone wishing to be buried in cemeteries run by Westmeath County Council.

At their July monthly meeting last week, members of the council agreed to increase charges for a burial plot and for burials by 20 per cent this year and by another 20 per cent next year.

Columbarium wall costs are to rise too, by 10 percent this year and another 10 percent next year.

The local authority is responsible for five burial grounds across the county, including Coosan and Cornamagh in Athlone, Killeagh in Castledaly, Donegan in Mount Temple, and Ballyglass Cemetery in the Mullingar-Kinnegad Municipal District.

The move follows the first review of burial charges in the county in 13 years as the council cites rising operating costs and a growing financial deficit in the management of its cemeteries.

Council officials have said the current burial charges have remained unchanged since the bye-laws were introduced in April 2013, while fees for the columbarium walls were added separately in 2023.

The Environment, Climate Action & Rural Water and Emergency Services SPC considered the matter at its June meeting, and approved the proposed increases, proposing their adoption in full by the council.

The cost of a burial plot will rise by 44% over a two-year period (cumulative rises of 20% per year), and of a burial by 43.5% over two years.

The first increase takes effect immediately. This will include a 20 per cent increase in core burial charges, as well as a 10 per cent increase in columbarium wall charges.

The second increase is scheduled to come into effect on June 1, 2027. This will include a further 20 per cent increase in core burial charges, as well as a further 10 per cent increase in columbarium wall charges.

Last year, cemetery charges brought in €161,000 while running costs reached €465,000, excluding capital expenditure. Therefore, approximately 65 percent of the cost is being subsidised by ratepayers, regardless of whether or not they use the service.

The first-stage increase is expected to generate an additional €32,200 annually, bringing projected income to approximately €193,000.

Even with the increase, cemetery income would cover only around 41 percent of the service’s annual running costs, underlining the council’s view that the second-stage increase will be necessary, alongside the development of a multi-year capital funding strategy to fund future cemetery infrastructure and expansion.

The council expects to spend about €500,000 shortly, extending Coosan Cemetery to provide additional burial capacity for the next couple of years. Looking further ahead, it will need to acquire and develop a new burial ground within the next decade.

Those wishing to be buried elsewhere face a different problem. If any graveyard, other than these five, needs to be extended, it is entirely up to the local community, in conjunction with the church, to do it.

This came to light when Cllr Vinny McCormack asked if the churches had any responsibility to provide graveyards, or was it all left to the county council. He said that people like to be buried in their local graveyard. “The people of Ballymore wouldn’t be too impressed if they had to go to Donegan or Castledaly to be buried”, he stressed.

Likewise, the people of Drumraney would not want to be buried in Ballymore, Cllr Tom Farrell declared. “We’re very parochial and we like to stick to our own parish”, he said. He asked if the council would give grant aid to communities that wished to make their graveyards bigger.

The chief executive Barry Kehoe said no, the council does not provide funding for any graveyard extensions, outside the five for which they are responsible.

Mr Kehoe said the council could work with the local community where it can to ensure local needs are met, but if people wanted graveyards in their local community they have to provide and maintain them, in conjunction with the church authorities.

The five graveyards the council has responsibility for are consuming a huge about of resources, so if that were to be expanded it would take more money and more people, he remarked.

In reply to Cllrs Denis Leonard and David Jones, the chief executive said that the council does have a grant scheme to help communities maintain closed graveyards.

In reply to Cllr Michael Dollard, Mr Kehoe said that the €500,000 for Coosan only covers capital expenditure for the acquisition of land and the provision of roads, boundary fences, drainage and so on within that land.

By June 2027, it will cost €648, compared to the current €450, to purchase a grave plot in one of the council’s five graveyards. And the cost of a grave opening and burial will rise from €585 now to €840. The cost of interment of cremated remains will rise from €100 to €144.

Over the two-year period, the cost of a columbarium wall niche and first opening rises from €800 to €968. Subsequent wall openings will be €121, up from the current €100, and an engraving increases from €300 to €363.

However, anyone who feels the charges would cause genuine and undue hardship may write to the council and be considered for reduced or waived charges.

The increased charges were approved by a show of hands and with agreement that they be reviewed every two years, going forward.