New bylaws on the cards in Kilkenny cemetery according to Cllr. David Fitzgerald

Local Fine Gael Councillor, David Fitzgerald, believes further measures are needed to stop unauthorised cemetery monuments from being erected in St. Kieran’s Cemetery, located just outside the city.

Fitzgerald, who raised the matter at a recent sitting of the city-municipal district, says such constructions should not take place without proper consultation with Kilkenny County Council.

"A number of Dublin contractors have arrived on site and erected monuments without any discussion with local authority staff and I ask that anybody who’s doing work in a public cemetery is properly authorised and licensed to work within the graveyard," Cllr. Fitzgerald said.

"Their argument (the contractors) has been that they’re being instructed by their clients but the reality is that they should be getting authorisation from Kilkenny County Council and they shouldn’t enter without authorisation".

Mr Fitzgerald is a member of the ‘Strategic Policy Committee’ assessing the issue and confirmed bylaws are being ‘drafted as we speak’, with information from other parts of the country with similar bylaws being sourced.

The city-based Fine-Gael public representative is hopeful bylaws will be in place by the end of the year and such rules will include a necessity for contractors to be licensed.

"The families of the bereaved should have clear guidance as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, in terms of both monuments and behaviour within the graveyard, so we’re going to tighten up on all that".

The former Mayor of Kilkenny City has also advocated for the further use of CCTV, both in the cemetery, and the city at large, believing such an expansion would be ‘sensible’ and a benefit to locals in the area.

"I’d like to see cameras not only in the city centre but out on the edges of the city, in the vicinity of Nowlan Park and St. Kieran's Cemetery.

"There’s a large expansion of the CCTV system across Kilkenny City in the pipeline, we’re waiting for clearance from the Department of Justice’, with such an investment ‘for the good of the public’s sake’ according to the two-time mayor.

In 2019, 21 new powerful, high definition CCTV cameras were rolled out in Kilkenny City as part of a major garda surveillance plan, with financial backing from Kilkenny County Council. It brought the total number of cameras to 36 in Kilkenny City.