Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway could become a location for a regional graveyard, according to the Environment Department of Galway County Council.
At a meeting of Athenry-Oranmore Municipal District Council today (11/3), councillors were told that there are over 230 burial grounds listed with 180 caretakers.
50 thousand euro is allocated in the annual council budget for extensions of burial grounds this year.
Paraic Carroll from the Environment Department says each individual extension usually costs about 50 thousand euro alone and funding is way too low.
The council is currently reviewing the cost of plots in county burial grounds with a view to raising it, however Paraic Carroll says this will still not adequately tackle the funding shortfall.
He said going forward, Galway could end up having a regional graveyard because the council can't meet the cost of extensions and land purchases.
Councillor Gabe Cronnelly told the meeting that cremations are becoming a lot more popular and the council should look at providing storage for urns.
