Delay concluding investigation into suspension of Council staff working at Sligo Cemetery “unprecedented”
THE delays in concluding an investigation into the suspension on full pay of two Sligo County Council staff who worked at Sligo Cemetery is “unprecedented” and their absence is costing the Council up to €5,000 per month in grave opening fees, it was stated this week.
Expressing dismay at the length the investigation into the suspension of two staff who worked for the local authority in Sligo Cemetery, Cllr Declan Bree said while he accepted that the management of Council staff was a matter for the Council, he believed as an elected representative it was his duty to ask why the investigation was taking so long as the two staff remain on full pay since their suspension in August 2023.
He said he had tabled the motion because of the growing concern many people had expressed to him about the staffing of Sligo Municipal Cemetery.
He said he noted the response from the Director of Services stating that staffing was a matter for Sligo County Council management and is not a matter for councillors.
He said he would acknowledge that the day-to-day management of the Council, including staffing, is vested in the management, he believed he and his fellow councillors, as the elected representatives of the people need to make their voices heard.
Quoting an article written in September 2023 which stated that two employees were understood to have been suspended on full pay from their roles at Sligo Cemetery from the middle of August, he said he assumed that the matter would have been investigated in a speedy manner to ensure the operation of the cemetery would return to normal.
However, he said seven months later there was still no indication “what the future holds” for the cemetery.
“How can an investigation take so long?” he asked, adding, “what’s happening now is unprecedented”.
He said figures released by Sligo County Council show that the Council has been losing 5,000 euro per month which would have been paid for the opening of graves since August 2023.
“That’s almost a €40,000 shortfall in our budget to date,” he said.
Cllr Bree added: “There’s not a week that goes by that I and I am sure other councillors are not asked ‘what’s going on in the cemetery?’
He said he acknowledged that staffing is a matter for the Council and would accept that Sligo Municipal Cemetery has been successfully managed and staffed by employees of the Council for the past 130 years, and that’s the reason we call on the Council to take the necessary steps to have the Council staffing restored to the cemetery.”
Cllr Arthur Gibbons said he supported the motion.
Cllr Tom MacSharry said all councillors have tabled motions about the cemetery. “The cemetery is a place in which we should all have pride, and it needs a lot of work.
“That [work] can’t happen unless it is fully staffed and fully resourced. That’s the only comment I would make.”
Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady said she also supported the motion. To ensure the constant upgrading and upkeep of the cemetery it is necessary to have our own staff there which has been the case for over 100 years. “I am completely in support of the motion,” she said.
There was no further comment or response from the Council representatives at the meeting, the motion from Cllr Bree, calling on Sligo County Council to “take the necessary steps to have Council staffing restored to Sligo Municipal Cemetery,” was agreed.
In a written response Sligo County Council said “staffing is a matter for the Executive of Sligo County Council and is not is not a matter for the MD Members”.