Mid and East Antrim: plan to drop Sunday option shelved as council hears 'weekend burials are an important tradition in rural areas'

The recommendation was made to councillors at a meeting of the council’s Environment and Economy Committee last month.

Minutes of the discussion which took place behind closed doors said that officers recommended restricting weekend burials to Saturday only.

However, officers were told rural funerals on a Sunday were a tradition and any staffing issues were “for council to resolve not citizens of Mid and East Antrim”. It was also stated costs were “built in” to cover Sunday burials.

It was pointed out burial is one of the council’s front-line services and consultation should have taken place with key partners. Interim director of operations Shaun Morley advised that staff resourcing would have to be reviewed.

It was proposed by Knockagh Alliance Councillor Aaron Skinner and seconded by Larne Lough DUP Cllr Gregg McKeen to recommend the council does not revise its weekend burial services.

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In a statement issued after the meeting, Cllr McKeen said: “I feel the family should be given the option if they want/need to have a burial on whichever day they want. In some cases, due to other factors, this might be their only option.”

Also in a statement issued after the meeting, Cllr Skinner said: “As this was discussed in a closed council session, I am only allowed to repeat what I said which was that weekend burials are an important tradition in rural areas and it is a key front-line service that must be protected.

“If there are staffing issues, then that is for the council to resolve. It is not an excuse to restrict the services open to our residents.”

Separately, at last month’s council meeting, an earlier proposal by Cllr Skinner to reopen household recycling centres on Sundays was unsuccessful.

A recommendation to approve no change to opening hours was proposed by Braid TUV Cllr Matthew Warwick and seconded by Braid Sinn Fein Cllr Archie Rae.

A director told the committee the cost of opening recycling centres for half a day on Sundays would be “the equivalent of closing on three weekdays”.

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter