Almost €300,000 in revenue was generated from the sale of graves in Clare in the last four years.
However new figures show that it is costing the county council more than twice that amount to maintain the county’s’ graveyards.
Of the 30 council owned burial grounds which generate revenue through the sale of graves, the largest are Drumcliffe in the Ennis district, Relig Nua and Scarrif in the Killaloe area, Shannon’s Ballycannon and Illaunamanagh and Ennistymon in the West Clare municipal district.
€299,794 was generated from the sale of graves from 2016 to 2019.
The cost of a grave varied from €315 for a single plot up to €735 for a double plot, depending on the location of the burial.
While the local authority takes in an annual average of €74,000 for the sale of burial plots, the average yearly cost of maintaining those graveyards, including the salaries of caretakers and registrars, is over twice that at €162,000.
The county council says significant works carried out due to public safety concerns and the maintenance of a further 20 non-revenue-generating burial grounds has resulted in the council having to meet the shortfall from its own resources.
