Excellent turn out for NAFD Northern Ireland meeting
Funeral directors from all over the Province attended the AGM of the Northern Ireland Area Federation of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) in Belfast on February 18, while the open forum which followed attracted a 100-strong audience from as far afield as Enniskillen, Colerain and Omagh.
Outgoing President of the Northern Ireland Area Federation William Millar got the AGM off to a positive start with a summary of a very successful 12 months, which culminated in the formation of the Stormont Cross Party Funeral Group. National President Graham Lymn then gave members an overview of the Association’s current activities, including developments in education and parliamentary campaigning plus new member benefits.
Hugh Dougall was installed as President of the Northern Ireland Area Federation for 2009/10 and the meeting was rounded off with a presentation to successful students of the Foundation Certificate in Funeral Directing.
The AGM was followed by an open forum designed to provide funeral directors throughout Ireland with the chance to debate key issues. After a presentation by Mervyn Storey MLA about the new Stormont Cross Party Funeral Group and its remit, the focus of the debate turned to the payment of disbursements in respect of at need funerals.
While some funeral directors already ask for payment up front, the majority do not, so the NAFD sought to provide guidance on best practice. This session was led by the NAFD’s National Public Relations Officer, Dominic Maguire, and included a review of how larger funeral groups tackle the issue. The general consensus was that funeral directors would benefit from seeking payment of disbursements ahead of the funeral because this would reduce their exposure to bad debt.
Finally, the forum examined the legislative issues affecting Northern Ireland funeral businesses. NAFD Chief Executive Officer Alan Slater updated the meeting on the Association’s campaign to raise the £700 cap on Social Fund payments for funerals and on doorstep selling regulations. The latter is particularly pertinent to Northern Ireland, since the vast majority of funeral directors make arrangements in the homes of bereaved families.
The meeting concluded with an invitation to join the National Association of Funeral Directors and William Millar’s tribute to the people who had played a key role in the creation of the Stormont Cross Party Funeral Group, which is scheduled to hold its inaugural meeting in the very near future.
“The Northern Ireland Assembly is very selective, so when you consider that there are only a handful of cross party groups within Stormont, it puts the formation of the Stormont Cross Party Funeral Group into perspective,” says Graham Lymn.
“The fact that the Stormont Cross Party Funeral Group will give Northern Ireland funeral directors a voice on devolved issues such as health, the environment and transport is a major achievement. What is more, the Group will very likely add weight to matters reserved for debate at Westminster, as we have witnessed through the work of our parliamentary groups in Scotland and Wales.”
The NAFD was delighted with the response to the AGM and the level of interest generated by the open forum and in view of the fact that so many people made the effort to attend, will be giving serious consideration to repeating the exercise at a future date.