Postmortem services at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, have been closed this week following an inspection by the Health Service Executive (HSE) last year.
According to a spokesperson for the HSE, "there are no plans to resume the service". Postmortems now have to take place at another hospital in the region, the nearest being in Dundalk.
Drogheda Borough councillor Paul Bell (Labour) said: "It is disgraceful and shocking to hear the services will not be resumed. My understanding is that the bigger picture is for a major pathology centre to be location at the Dundalk hospital.
"This is absolutely ridiculous as the major maternity hospital for the northeast region and the major trauma centre for the region is located in the Lourdes hospital in Drogheda."
It is understood that, on foot of the inspection last September, the HSE concluded that the postmortem facilities in the Drogheda hospital were inappropriate and unsuitable.
The ending of the service comes at a time when there is much local debate on the viability of the hospital if it remains on its landlocked site.
In a statement the HSE said postmortem services had been suspended for the "foreseeable future", and there were no plans to resume them.