Portadown Ulster Unionist Councillor Julie Flaherty has called on the Finance Minister Conor Murphy to act now to release funding that will implement the Children’s Funeral Fund and ensure that the cost of burial of a child under 18 is covered by the State.

Councillor Julie Flaherty said:

“Earlier this week there was another motion at Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon Council (ABC) in support of the Children’s Funeral Fund. It is nothing short of shameful that Northern Ireland remains the only part of the United Kingdom where the cost of burial of a child under 18 will not be covered by the Children’s Funeral Fund.

“In Northern Ireland we need a Stormont Minister to sign off on this fund but it seems that the political will is not there in the required areas. This does not involve a large amount of money in terms of the Northern Ireland budget. The last bid for support by the Department of Communities for funding from the Executive to cover the whole of Northern Ireland amounted to £200K – and that was turned down by the Department of Finance, which is headed by Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy.

“This is of course a subject very close to my heart given the loss of my own son Jake. ABC Council was the first in Northern Ireland to implement a form of mitigation by way of waiving burial fees in Council Cemeteries more than three years ago, and the rest of our local councils followed suit.

“From 1st June 2018, when the scheme started here in ABC Council, the mitigation has amounted to a total Council spend of around £3,500. It is only within our gift to implement our own scheme in Council owned Cemeteries.

“The Welsh Government announced a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a Children’s Funeral Fund on 23rd November 2017. In Scotland on 30th May 2018 the Scottish Government launched a similar scheme. The Children’s Funeral Fund, Martin’s Fund named after the late son of the MP Carolyn Harris who started the campaign, was fully implemented in England on 23rd July 2019.

“Surely it is not asking too much for bereaved parents and families in Northern Ireland to be given the same support and understanding? This is a good thing to do and it is the right thing to do and I am appealing to Conor Murphy to instruct his officials to release the funding now.”