FAS Graveyard Scheme is Scrapped
16 October 1996
FAS Community Employment project will no longer be used to clean up graveyards in Mayo, Dail Deputy Michael Ring has been informed by the Training & Employment Agency.
Instead the participants on such schemes will divert their energies towards projects like caring for the handicapped, community development and schools and sporting facilities.
Deputy Ring had sought information on the upkeep and tidying of graveyards with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr. Richard Bruton who in turn passed the query onto the Employment Services Manager of FAS for the West Region.
The secretariat to the manager Ms. Mary Drake in a reply top Deputy Ring stated: "The position is that for many years graveyard maintenance in the area was carried out under Community Enterprise projects.
"Unfortunately, this resulted in a number of problems - allegations were made about damage supposedly caused by Community Employment participants to headstones, archaeological artifacts and sites.
"Participants regarded the work as low skilled in addition to which they found that they were returning to the same graveyards every few years only to find that they had reverted to their former state of wilderness."
Ms. Drake continued: "A greater awareness of what can be achieved through Community Employment projects has now been developed by communities in the West region.
"This has resulted in a large number of worthwhile and suitable projects seeking assistance under Community Employment.
"Community Employment projects are no longer approved by our West Region for graveyards in order that adequate provision can be made for projects like caring for the handicapped, Cerebral Palsy, Alzheimer Association, meals-on-wheels, schools sporting facilities and community development.
"Projects such as these provide not only valuable assistance to the local community, but also worthwhile work experience for participants, thereby enhancing their employment prospects."
Deputy Ring said complaints about the state of our graveyards were growing and growing from visitors to his clinics.
Some action would have to be taken to tackle this problem. He said he was disappointed that FAS would no longer lend their support to cleaning up the burial grounds.
"These graveyards are the resting places of our ancestors and they must be maintained to a proper standard", he said.
Deputy Ring said he would be raising the matter in the Dail and at Mayo County Council level.
Connaught Telegraph - News - October 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sport - October 1996
