Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

It is ironic that Fianna Fáil has tabled this motion on the closure of Army barracks when, in the best of economic times, Fianna Fáil-led Governments saw the closure of up to 11 barracks. Now that it is in opposition and we are in troublesome economic times, does it believe it made a mistake closing those barracks or what has changed?

We are living in very difficult economic times and tough decisions must be made. This Government will not shy away from making those decisions. I accept the need to rationalise and to trim down the number of barracks. We must look at where we came from. Barracks locations date back to a different era. Most of these barracks were built in the 1700s and the 1800s by the British to try to stem the rising tide of Irish freedom fighters. Thankfully, we live in a very different country today. Some of these barracks are no longer fit for purpose and the reason for their location is historical.

The most important thing is the numbers in the Defence Forces. As a Deputy for Kildare South, the Curragh is in my constituency and a large number of Defence Forces personnel are my constituents. I am all too aware of the issues affecting them. There is no greater issue than the number of Defence Forces personnel. If Fianna Fáil Deputies had the choice between the closure of some barracks or a reduction in the number of personnel, which would they choose? That is a very obvious question. I can only take from its motion that it would prefer to see a reduction in the number of Defence Forces personnel than see any barracks closed.

Our Defence Forces have enhanced our reputation internationally through their peacekeeping duties. They have the best reputation of any defence force in the world in carrying out those duties. That role must be maintained and protected where possible.

Another point which must be borne in mind in regard to barracks is that if we were to reduce the number of personnel as opposed to the number of barracks, that would result in the closure of barracks in time because one would not have enough personnel to maintain all of them. That would happen by default. Having said that, if barracks are to close, we need to be well organised and aware of the issues which will arise in certain locations.

In 1998 a previous Fianna Fáil-led Government closed Magee Barracks in Kildare Town. There have been difficulties with Magee Barracks. The reason it lies idle today is a long and protracted one and I will not go into the litany of failed policy decisions by the previous Government which has left this large site in the centre of a vibrant town surrounded by housing estates idle. However, we need to deal adequately with vacant barracks.

Magee Barracks has seen problems from anti-social behaviour, bonfires at night, vandalism, theft of lead off roofs, theft of manhole covers, the extraction of metal cables from the ground as well as fear and intimation among the families living adjacent to the site. The issue is one of policing. One cannot have a large site in the centre of a town and say it is enough to fence it off. I have raised the problems that affect Magee Barracks with the Minister and his departmental officials and I acknowledge the great lengths they have gone to in trying to address them. The gardaí in Kildare already have a lot on their plate and I urge the Minister to work with the Defence Forces to provide adequate patrols of the barracks and surrounding sites. The problems that have arisen for Magee Barracks are short term and will persist for the duration of the economic crisis. We need to put in place a system that ensure the protection of people who live beside vacant barracks until the economy recovers to the stage where a positive use can be found for these sites.

I continue to work with the Minister on recruiting personnel to offset the retirements and losses that will occur in the Defence Forces over the coming months. Our focus should be on protecting our fantastic Defence Forces.

See this speech in context