There's been a broad welcome to the relaxing of a rule regarding the depth of graves in Clare.
As part of a new series of bye laws, an amended proposal will be brought before Councillors in the coming months which would see the eight foot rule only enforced where this is possible or safe.
The new series of draft burial ground bye-laws will be brought before a full Council meeting, after they were agreed at a special committee meeting yesterday.
Members of the local authority's Cultural, Arts, Community, Recreation and Amenity Services Committee examined a total of seven public submissions focussing on a range of issues including parking, the height of headstones and the controversial issue of grave depth.
A one hundred year old rule stated that graves must be eight foot deep – a rule that many undertakers believed to be unworkable and potentially unsafe.
Speaking to Clare FM's Morning Focus, Grave Digger John Flaherty explained his issues with the suggestion saying that in Doolin, a depth of 4.6 foot is the most that can be achieved.
The eight-foot rule will now be relaxed, and applied only where it's possible, a decision which has been welcomed by Lahinch Fine Gael Councillor Bill Slattery.
