asked the Minister for Local Government whether he is aware that the Abbey Graveyard, Ballinskelligs, County Kerry, requires protection from damage by the sea, that for want of that protection for years past coffins and corpses are frequently floating about in the ride, that bones of the dead are strewn about the strand; and, if so, whether he will state what steps are being taken by the Kerry County Council to protect the cemetery from total destruction and if the site for a new graveyard has yet been procured.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Kerry Graveyard.
The conditions described by the Deputy have not been brought to my notice. Proposals of the Kerry County Council for the protection from the sea of Ballinskelligs Abbey and Burial Ground were approved last March by the Office of Public Works who are concerned in the matter owing to the fact that Ballinskelligs Abbey is scheduled as a national monument. Protection is to be provided by the construction of a massive concrete breast wall founded on solid rock. The work is estimated to cost £5,200, and the county council were informed by the Office of Public Works that the Minister for Finance had sanctioned a grant of £2,600 towards the cost, subject to the county council accepting responsibility for future maintenance. I understand that the county council have not yet accepted the grant, which they consider should be of a greater proportion.