Churches in the Ballyfermot area of west Dublin are grappling with a mounting debt crisis and owe a total of over €2.5 million, a local priest has revealed. Fr Michael O'Kelly said he and colleagues have begun personally visiting houses in the area to seek donations to go towards paying of a debt of over €1.5 million.
He said the debt had been run up by the fact that the Churches provide a wide range of services and the redevelopment of the old presbytery into a pastoral centre.
"We have visited hundreds of houses as a way of increasing our visibility in the parish,” said Fr O’Kelly. “On our visits we have mentioned a need for support that the church has with regard to money and the response has been fantastic,” he added.
Fr O'Kelly said the Church of the Assumption handles 150 funerals a year, which means a heavy workload for him and his colleague Fr Joe Ryan.
"There used to be eight priests here in the late 1980s and with attendance numbers dropping, the church may well have just one priest in five years."
Reduced numbers of clergy and debt to be cleared will mean that parishes in his area and across the country generally will have to be grouped together and parish councils, made up of lay people, will have to take over the management of the parishes.
One church in Ballyfermot, St Matthew's Church on Blackditch Road, was refurbished last year at a cost of €800,000.
Fr Ryan said the Church must be a focal point for the community by providing courses and meeting rooms and should be “more than just a place to drop in for a cup of tea. We have found that people are more than willing to support fundraisers for refurbishment when they are complete but come five years and when we are still trying to raise money it might prove tougher."
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