The developers of a crematorium in Co Clare were granted a four-month extension in their planning application just one day before the county council was due to deliver its decision on the proposed development.
The extension was requested as the company, Illaunamanagh Ltd, which hopes to build the country's first crematorium outside Dublin, "wish to address some issues raised by the local authority including the use of open space and traffic management issues at the proposed site".
Illaunamanagh Ltd claims the crematorium has been initiated in response to a strong demand from undertakers in the western half of the country for such a facility. The proposed development will be located beside Illaunamanagh Cemetery and will include a 12-tonne crematorium unit and furnace.
The plans include a multi-denominational chapel and a garden of remembrance surrounded by an ornate wall where family members can inter the cremated remains of their loved ones.
Fr Tom Ryan, parish priest of Shannon, said: "This is something I have welcomed from the very beginning." He came "across many bereaved families who would have availed of the option of cremation if it were available locally. Up to now, the thought of having to travel to Dublin has been off-putting for many families at a time of grief in their lives.
"From a Catholic perspective, cremation is very acceptable as our understanding of death and grief has evolved over the years."
Illaunamanagh Ltd comprises two local businessmen, former Clare county councillor Tony McMahon and Shannon town councillor Seán Hillery. Mr McMahon, who is also an undertaker with funeral homes in Shannon, Sixmilebridge and Blackwater, has described the public reaction to the proposed crematorium as "very positive".
"Approximately seven per cent of requests from my overall business concern cremation. However, at present next of kin must travel from the west of Ireland to Dublin to avail of such a service, which is an unnecessary burden at a time of great upset," Mr McMahon said yesterday.