Travellers putting lives at risk by attending funerals in large numbers - Pavee Point
Travellers are putting their lives at risk by attending funerals in large numbers, according to Pavee Point.
It is after up to 150 people attended four funerals in Wexford and Cork over the past week.
According to reports, mourners came from several counties and Britain to go to a funeral in Cork City on Monday.
Martin Collins, a co-director of Pavee Point, is appealing to his community to obey social distancing.
"Since the onset of the coronavirus, I am personally aware of at least seven, possibly eight, funerals.
"We have been liaising with gardaí in relation to these funerals to make sure that people respect the social distancing.
"But by and large this has not proved possible.
"The people concerned are not respecting the social distancing.
"They are putting their own personal health and lives on the line and indeed those of others."
Mr Collins said the gardaí need to better enforce social distancing rules.
"I think the gardaí need to be a bit more assertive in enforing the regulations and the laws but obviously this needs to be done in a very sensitive way, in a very respectful way, in a very proportionate way and in a way that is human rights compliant.
"At the end of the day, this is about protecting the lives of those who attend the funeral and about protecting the lives of those in the surrounding area."
