An increased demand for cremation services as part of the continuing trend away from traditional burials led to an 11 per cent increase in profits to €1.22 million at the company that operates Glasnevin crematorium.
New accounts for Glasnevin Crematorium Ltd show that the business achieved the increase in profits as its revenues rose by 18 per cent to €3.87 million last year. This followed a profit of €1.09 million for 2022.
Underscoring the increasing demand for cremations, the company in October of last year signed a contract with a Dutch firm to provide a new cremator for delivery this year for about €1.1 million.
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The principal activity of the company is to provide a professional cremation and memorialisation service at each of its three crematoria, which it owns and operates at Glasnevin, Newlands Cross and Dardistown.
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In their report, the directors state that the company “achieved an increased surplus for the year arising from the increased demand for cremation services and memorialisations principally from the continuing trend away from traditional burials to cremations”.
The company distributes a portion of any annual surplus to its controlling party, the Dublin Cemeteries Committee, to support the sustainability of the charity and last year paid out €524,347. This was down from €926,100 a year earlier
The directors’ report further states that, in 2023, Dublin Cemeteries Trust provided 4,764 funeral services. This was made up of 3,379 cremations and 1,385 burials “across all our cemetery locations”.
The directors state that it is envisaged that the population of the Greater Dublin Area will increase significantly by 2030, and that the number of people over 65 years of age will also grow significantly in the same period. “It is inevitable, therefore, that there will be a significant increase in the demand for the essential service of burying and cremating the dead in the next 10 years – and indeed beyond.”
“It is absolutely vital that Dublin Cemeteries Trust continues to prepare for this increased level of demand, and that we play a leading role in addressing and meeting that need in the years ahead,” the directors add.
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