Mr Gay Mitchell, Fine Gael TD for Dublin South Central, has launched a campaign to have Goldenbridge cemetery in Inchicore turned into a national heritage park.
Mr Mitchell claimed yesterday that the graveyard, in which a former Fine Gael leader, William T. Cosgrave, is buried, was in a "disgraceful" state.
He said that the graveyard was not being properly maintained and was being used by drug addicts. Burial sites were strewn with syringes, he added.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, who was on a visit to the Dublin South Central constituency yesterday, went to the graveyard with Mr Mitchell and a local councillor, Ms Catherine Byrne.