New Regulations To Accommodate 'Uncoffined Burial'

From next month and for the first time in more than 120 years, bodies can be buried without a coffin.

Burial regulations introduced in 1888, made it illegal to bury a body in any cemetery that was not enclosed in a coffin.

Now, under new regulations approved by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan, ‘uncoffined bodies’, will be accepted in cemeteries from June 01, 2013.

It is understood that the change has been introduced to accommodate Muslims, who traditionally do not use a coffin for burial, the Irish Times reported.

It is also understood that any cemetery can opt out of offering the service, and environmental health officers can overrule permission for an uncoffined burial if the believe it could cause a danger to public or environmental health, if for example the cemetery was near a water source.

(H/CD)