Bobby Storey funeral explainer: Here’s what NI Covid law actually says about mourners – and how it differs from mere ‘advice’

Here the News Letter breaks down exactly what the law says about funerals in NI, and how it differs from the official guidance.
Roselawn cemeteryRoselawn cemetery
Roselawn cemetery

There are fundamentally two different sets of rules governing the coronavirus lockdown: the government’s official guidance (also called advice), and the actual legal regulations.

The two are not the same; there are a number of things which fall under the category of “guidance” which are not legally enforceable – for instance there is nothing in law which explicitly bans wakes, even though the government guidance has discouraged them ever since April 1.

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The government advice on funerals is set out in fairly simple terms on the NI Direct website, and key restrictions in the guidance are that:

~ A maximum of 30 people should be present;

~ Arrangements should be made by telephone;

~ Cremations can still be carried out at Roselawn, but no-one can be in attendance;

~ And while funeral notices can still be placed in newspapers, they should not otherwise be advertised.

The legal regulations on the other hand are a mish-mash of the original law as laid down on March 28, and a string of amendments since then.

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One area where the guidance and the law are the same is this: people have the right to leave their home for funerals or to visit a cemetery, but only to pay respects to a member of your household, a close family member, or – if none of those are present – then you can go as a friend.

From June 29, the law allows up to 30 people to congregate outside (with guidance saying that they should stay two metres apart).

The only place the two-metre rule appears to be written into the law is on funerals.

There, the law says “a person who is responsible for a burial ground must take all reasonable measures to ensure that a distance of at least two metres is maintained” (except between those of the same household).

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