Should the state run their own version of RIP.ie?
11:11 Share

Jennifer Whitmore is with me, Social Democrat TD for Wicklow. Jennifer, you're very welcome to the show. I understand you're suggesting the state gets a version of RIP up and running. Is that right?

Good afternoon, Clare-Anne. Yeah, absolutely. I think, look, RIP.ie has been, it's a really invaluable service and it's probably something that everyone in Ireland has availed of at some stage or another. And I think particularly for older people or people living in rural areas, it's really important because it lets them know who's passed and, you know, within their locality and, you

enabled them, I suppose, to say their goodbyes or to pass their condolences on to families. So I was quite disappointed when I learned that

There was going to be a charge placed on this service now because up to now it's been a free service. And I think that's why it's been so successful. And I think because it's going to make funerals a lot more expensive. But probably the biggest issue for me is that what's going to happen now is, and we've seen it already, is there's been a number of other sites that are being created and that are popping up. And that's because

you know, different funeral directors are seeing the need for this, a cheaper version of it. But what that's going to mean then is that there isn't a single flight that's available for people. And I think that just will really undermine the service in its entirety. And I think that will be an awful shame if that did happen, you know. Yeah, we actually spoke to one of the gentlemen behind

One of the several sites, as you say, that have been mentioned as getting up and going, condolence.ie, is this one from Danny Mourning and Donegal. Take a little listen. Donegal.

Condolence.ie is a completely free death notice website. We're in the funeral business this last almost 30 years and we've been supplying the vast majority of the funeral directors throughout the country with their own unique products, you know, as a wholesaler or such. And when this price or charge came about, we're very much aware of...

How conscious the funeral directors are of adding extra charges onto their bill. The vast majority of the funeral directors are very caring people and they try their very, very best to keep the bottom line as low as possible. And even with funeral expenses, there's a lot of hidden expenses that the general public wouldn't realize or consider.

typically, but it's included in what they do and they try very much to keep their bottom line as low as possible for the family in particular. The running cost is no great expense to us and it's no great problem because the staff's here already and we don't have to charge for this business. So that was Danny Mourning from condolence.ie. And Jennifer, as you say, this is just one of a few that have been suggested as alternatives to RIP.ie.

I mean, why should the state step in when people are providing the service for nothing? I think that the reason being that if there's multiple services, it just fractures it. It means that there isn't a single entity that people can go to. I mean, my family's literally just been through this. Unfortunately, my father-in-law passed away on New Year's Day. So we were probably one of the first families, thanks very much, to be impacted by it. But he passed away in Wicklow.

He'd been sick for a very long time. He lived his entire adult life in Dublin and was from Galway. Now, at the wake, we had people coming from Galway that wouldn't have seen him in 50 years. And it was because they'd seen it on RIP. And it was fantastic for them to come and tell their stories.

of my father-in-law, but also for them to say their goodbyes and pass their condolences on. So I think if you have multiple sites, what it means is people won't know the one site to go to to find out what's happening and to get the up-to-date image. And I think that's the problem with it. So in the absence of that one site...

I think, you know, this is something that the state should actually look into because it's not a big, as that man said, it's actually not a really expensive thing to do. It's a website with a database on it. You know, it's not usually costly or resource heavy. But I do think that, you know, the state could actually provide... I know, but Jennifer, you know as well as I do that the state getting involved can make things expensive, things that shouldn't necessarily be expensive.

Well, there is that, but I think that's more of a governance issue. I mean, there's a lot that the state does very well. And I think this could be something that, you know, I mean, the HSE already do births, deaths and marriages. You know, they already have a register. This would just, you know, could potentially just be an extension of that, that you just have a website. And I think if it's just the one site, it could essentially replicate what RIP.ie is doing at the moment and just become that real go-to site that people know that they'll get the information.

But I mean, what we're talking about here is kind of an almost kind of perfect example of the state interfering in kind of a free market that seems to be functioning. I know you make the point that like there'd be three alternatives to RIP.ie so people wouldn't necessarily know where to go. But three is hardly a huge number. If people are savvy enough to pick up their phone and be able to kind of check something on RIP.ie or condolence.ie, they'll know that there's two other alternatives that the post might be on as well.

Yeah, my understanding is there could be six or seven sites at this stage that are popping up. I think what we might see is maybe localised sites might pop up. It just sort of seems, it just doesn't make sense to me that we just need one site. Unfortunately, I mean, the ideal thing is that if RIP, that they continued as was and, you know, there wasn't a charge and, you know, there could be ancillary...

costs that maybe if people want to get condolence books or things like that will then find they'll pay extra for it. But I do think it was a really important free service. There's a real public good associated with it. But I do think that it needs to be a single site so people know where to go. And if it's not a single site, I think, you know, I can understand where

those funeral directors are coming in and I think they're really trying to do their best for this but I do think there just needs to be a single side that's providing good service. Should we not kind of let the market do its thing first and if indeed it

proves to be dysfunctional, then maybe there's an argument that the state steps in. But I mean, at this stage, you know, we're only dealing with the kind of the news that RIP.ie is going to start charging relatively recently. These sites aren't even up and running yet. It could be the case that in six months time, most of the other sites have melted away and there's only condolence.ie or there's only one of the other ones or people are posting on all of the sites and it proves to be entirely functional. And we haven't then in the meantime committed to

money to providing a service that the market is providing. Yeah, and look at me, you know, we need to examine it. I don't think, like, it's not going to be a huge amount of money. You're

Probably talking, I think it's really just the platform, the web page money plus someone just to manage it. I mean, it's not a lot of money. And as I said, we already have a register and we have an entity within the HSE that manages a lot of this information already. So I don't think it will be a really big impasse. No, and listen, we shouldn't exaggerate. This isn't kind of break the bank stuff. But at the same time, I just wonder, are we kind of,

I know I keep repeating myself, but why bother do this when we don't know what the outcome yet is going to be of RIP.ie charging you 100 quid? Let's give it six months. And if it's chaotic and people are missing funerals, we don't know what's happening, then yeah, maybe there's an argument that the state gets involved. But I mean, RIP.ie didn't exist 15, 20 years ago, and I don't think people were missing funerals left, right and centre.

No, but I think Ireland was a lot smaller then. Do you know what I mean? I think our communities were a lot smaller. We would have had a lot more, there would have been less people moving around the country. And I think RIP.ie has, like if you talk to anyone from overseas and you try to explain how important this website was, you know, they couldn't quite grasp it. But it was so, and is so important. Yeah. Oh no, I'd agree with you absolutely there. So,

A bit of competition isn't a bad thing either though, is it? That you've got, you know, a number of different entities competing with each other for the business. It might improve the service rather than the state getting involved. Yeah, I don't know. I think there's just some fundamental things that people shouldn't be charged for where there is a real... But they're not charging, that's the point. ...distance bonus.

No, but some of them aren't. Like, some of them aren't at the moment, but they're also not providing the same services as RIP.ie, you know, and I think, you know, maybe, you know, we could wait six months, but like my preference would be if in the absence of RIP.ie, going back to the way they operate, I think that there is a real role for the state to play here. And as I said, it's not a huge role, like it's not comprehensive.

going to break the bank. It will be a tiny part of the function of any of our state entities to do this. And I think that that's really where we should be going as opposed to having six or seven different sites up and running. Even if one or two of them come out as the winners at the end, you still have a fractured system

you know, website system that I think will just cause difficulties for people. So I think it's certainly something that we should be looking at. We should be examining it. I think, as I said, there is sort of fundamental things that we shouldn't be paying for. And I think knowing when someone, you know, a friend or a loved one passes away, being able to access that information quickly and find out, you know, where you need to go to

to pass your condolences on or to go and say your goodbyes is something that's really important. And I think we really value it as a people. And I think we just need to hold on to those things that we value strongly and that really make us who we are. And,

don't try to let them go. Like, hang on to them and provide them so that people can continue with those sorts of traditions that we have. Well, listen, sorry to hear again about your father-in-law over New Year's. Jennifer Whitmore, Social Democrat TD for Wicklow. Somebody says, I always thought we were paying for it already through the funeral directors.

Another listener, we survived before RIP.ie with the local radio stations managing death notices. There's no need for state service. This really is a storm in a teap cup. Come on, says somebody else. People were well able to find out if somebody had died long before the internet even existed.

The strange thing about Jennifer Whitmore's argument is that we used to all pay for death notices in the newspapers and nobody had a problem with that. Why do people think things are easy to do, says another listener. RIP.ie is running and improving for 20 years. It's not an overnight success and is not free. The state run site is a ridiculous concept. And more and more text along those lines.

Can somebody get in touch maybe in defence of Jennifer Whitmore's suggestion for a state-run version of RIP.ie? There doesn't seem to be much support thus far.