COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

QUESTION NO. 12

QUESTION: Councillor W. Lavelle

To ask the Manager, further to my motion at the September 2010 meeting, to again consider my proposal to provide timber fencing and a timber gate around the open rubbish dumps which are currently an eyesore in the cemetery; and to further outline any other proposals for improvement works and/or efforts to ensure more regular maintenance and grass-cutting for Esker Cemetery during 2011?

REPLY:

The Council are currently examining screening options for the waste bunkers used by visitors tending to family graves as well as grave-diggers who need to dispose of surplus soil from grave excavations.  Access to the bunkers must be provided at all times and the nature of such screening should be that it is easily maintained and  not cause a hindrance to staff and visitors alike.

Maintenance of the burial grounds is undertaken by Burial Grounds Maintenance staff based in  the Ballymount depot.  Cost  of maintaining the Cemeteries includes staff, materials, equipment and waste disposal.

The maintenance of the Councils Burial Grounds comes under pressure due to the following factors:

• The embargo on employment of Temporary Staff, has resulted in a reduction in the available resources in both Burial Grounds and the Refuse Section. 
• As burial grounds staff are used a spare operatives when refuse is short staffed (due to sick leave/ annual leave etc) we have a severe shortage of staff from time to time and this is resulting in a large number of complaints being made on the level of maintenance. 
• Also as a means of reducing costs, we have restricted the overtime worked in the section.

 Modifications to the operations of the section will be examined in light of the negotiated Croke Park National agreement that set out  clear protocols for restructuring in Local Government.