A Tralee MD councillor has asked that families of children interred in the cemetery behind Áras an Chontae be given better access.
Independent councillor Sam Locke says many people are unaware there is a graveyard behind council buildings in Tralee, which previously served as St Catherine’s Hospital between the 1930s and 80s.
He says many infants and young children are buried there and elderly parents want to visit their children's graves.
Tralee municipal district management told the meeting the council does facilitate access to the cemetery during weekday opening hours, when the caretaker is
available on site.
Visitors must be accompanied for their own safety because the graves are accessed via the council's machinery yard.
It advises family members to make prior arrangements with the caretaker so they can be accompanied through the machinery yard.
Cllr Locke asked if a gated pathway could be made to allow independent access without accompaniment.
Kerry County Council's facilities manager John Purcell said this was not a solution because visitors would stll need to cross the main thoroughfare into the machinery yard, which draws heavy traffic.
Mr Purcell said the council is looking at alternative access options, but that this will take time.
He assured the councillors that, in his time at the facilities department, there has never been an issue so long as the caretaker was available.
