Jennifer Whitmore said on Thursday the decision to charge funeral directors €100 has led numerous funeral directors to offer to set up a free version of the service but this would not best serve communities.
Several new websites are being launched as potential alternatives to RIP.ie since the popular death notices platform introduced a €100 charge last week.
RIP.ie is owned by the Irish Times group, which said there was no decline in the number of listings since the charge came into effect on January 1. But funeral directors and priests have predicted families will turn away from RIP.ie.
The fee has been described by the site owners as ‘good value for money’, adding funds will be used to ‘support the development and enhancement’ of its service. The site had 3.3 million users in November.
Ms Whitmore said: ‘The emergence of multiple death notice websites will not serve the public good. Instead of a situation where people have to navigate several online platforms to access funeral details, I believe consideration should now be given to setting up a State-run death notice website, offering a centralised service that is easy to use and free of charge for users.’
‘FUNERALS’
The site owners pointed to significant investment since the Irish Times purchased RIP.ie’, with ‘plans to significantly extend its reach’ due to be announced ‘in the coming weeks’.
The fee has been described by some as ‘excessive’, with fears it will be passed on to bereaved families. Ms Whitmore said it ‘will undoubtedly affect the effectiveness of the service, as the charge will place an additional financial burden on bereaved families’.
Labour TD Conor Sheehan said: ‘Charging people €100 to post a death notice is wrong. RIP.ie has become a crucial community tool for people up and down this country, and I am calling on the Irish Times to reverse this decision.’
Funeral director Joe Grogan, in Tuam, Co. Galway, said costs would likely be passed on to families. ‘It’s something we can’t absorb ourselves,’ he said, adding it was ‘too much’ for families to pay.
‘Funerals are a sensitive business. You don’t want to be seeing ads or pop-ups that have nothing to do with funerals,’ he told RTÉ’s Drivetime. ‘When RIP.ie was set up it was more of a personal family business, but you see it is more revenue-driven now.’
He acknowledged funeral directors paid higher costs for announcements in national newspapers and on radio before the site was launched.