Just four of the seventeen cemeteries in South Dublin have space available for burial services.
Cllr. Charlie O’Connor has warned that South Dublin County Council must be proactive in identifying appropriate land to develop burial ground to ensure there are sufficient Grave spaces in the coming years. The Election Candidate in Dublin South West was commenting having obtained information from the Council’s Chief Executive which indicates that only two of the four cemeteries in South County Dublin operated by the council have undeveloped sections to provide for future burial plots. Cllr O’Connor said, “Over the next decade the demand for burial plots will inevitably rise but as we now know only four cemeteries have grave space available for purchase; Bohernabreena, Saggart, Newcastle and Esker.
“There is limited land available in our county and it already comes at a high cost given its urban strategic value. It would therefore only make logical sense that the Local Authority would get planning so that we don’t reach a point in the near future when suddenly people are passing away and families cannot fulfil their wish to bury their loved one locally. “There are currently a total of 1,236 spaces left for purchase in South County Dublin. To put that in perspective, in 2016 there were 1,220 registered deaths of people living in our county. “A number of private facilities have begun to emerge but it’s worrying that there is no undeveloped section to provide for future needs in either Bohernabreena or Saggart while Esker cemetery is close to full capacity. “I am concerned that the Council have told me this month it does not envisage that further lands will be acquired; this is short-sighted given the lack of space that has already been identified. There is a threat of running out of urban land for burial services and especially as our local population steadily increases,” he concluded.
