John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The debate in the House over the last two nights has exercised the minds of Deputies on all sides. I have noticed that very few Labour Party Deputies came into the House last night and tonight. Perhaps that, in itself, is a good sign. I know some of them are unhappy about the decision that may be taken by the Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition. I am sure they will use all their power at the Cabinet table to ensure the mass closure of barracks that the Minister is allegedly planning does not happen. One of the problems with this debate is that we are operating in a vacuum to an extent. There has been much talk about the closure of barracks. Last night the Minister did not say how many, if any, will be closed, or if they are all going to close. This is totally unfair on the Defence Forces and the communities in which barracks are located. The Minister should set out clearly what he intends to do. If he intends to impose closures, he should explain how he will bring them about.

I am not very good at reading the computer, but I looked today at the manifestos published by the Labour Party and Fine Gael before this year's general election. Nothing in the documentation suggested Army barracks would be closed. I wonder, given that they have changed their minds and broken their promises in so many other areas, whether they intend to do likewise in this respect. The Fine Gael manifesto included very little about the Defence Forces. The Labour Party manifesto stated:

Labour will publish a White Paper on the Defence Forces setting out our vision for the Defence Forces to 2020. This will include a strategy to restore the strength of the Defence Forces to 10,500 members. Such a paper will also consider what the appropriate role for PDFORRA might be within the wider Trade Union movement.

It is obvious that the Labour Party was making plans for the future of the Defence Forces. I suggest its Deputies should have come to the House to spell out where they stand on this issue.

We all proudly acknowledge the participation of the Army in peace missions across the world. Those who have served are held in high regard. We must also recognise the substantial contribution of the Defence Forces to the security of the State during the years. During my life in politics, I have seen the great work carried out by the Defence Forces in times of need, including during fire brigade strikes and flooding problems. During all of the snow and the resulting emergencies last winter, we saw at first hand the work and support given by the Defence Forces, including to nurses and doctors in making sure valuable medical and food services were provided to people in need.

We need to recognise this role. Army personnel are not just based in Army barracks as they also make a valuable contribution to communities throughout the country. We must also remember the role they played during the violence in Northern Ireland, when they risked life and limb on Border duty in protecting the State from subversives and illegal organisations.

Of course, Fianna Fáil must acknowledge that it closed some barracks. However, the money from this was used to revamp the Defence Forces, in particular to upgrade and reinvest in equipment and to upgrade remaining barracks. Some €84.98 million was realised from the sale of barracks in the recent past and directing this funding to the upgrading of equipment proved very important, given some equipment was obsolete and in need of replacement. That money was wisely spent and the reinvestment was critical in raising the standard of equipment and facilities used by the Defence Forces from what was considered to be a position below international standards. If we are to be involved in peacekeeping efforts throughout the world, it is only right that the Defence Forces would have the proper, state-of-the-art equipment that is necessary.

The Reserve Defence Force also underwent a systematic overhaul and re-branding. The recommendations of the Reserve Defence Force Review Implementation Board in 2004 set out very clearly a series of measures to ensure the development of the future operations of the reserve forces and, in 2004 and 2005, working groups in this area also made strong recommendations.

Deputy Troy referred to value for money. The Minister should make public the value for money audit that was carried out, if one was carried out. If so, it should be made available to PDFORRA and to this House. When we carry out financial reviews, the reports that result are very important. It is very easy to take into account the money saved through the closure of barracks but what about the loss to the communities and the effect it will have on them? The soldiers and their families are an essential part of the local economy in the towns in which they are located.

I support Deputy McGuinness in regard to the James Stephens Barracks in Kilkenny. Many soldiers and members of the Defence Forces operating there are from my own county of Wexford and some have contacted me in recent weeks to express serious concern about the downgrading of this barracks.

I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, attended the PDFORRA conference today and I am sure he heard of the difficulties and problems it would have with the closure of barracks, in particular in regard to recruitment. I did not agree with the outgoing Fianna Fáil Minister in regard to putting a ban on recruitment to the Army. I am sure many young people from County Wexford attend the office of the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe. If they are on jobseeker's benefit, we are paying such people €200 a week if they are single and nearly €500 a week if they are married with two children. Many of these people want to get into the Army or be involved in the Defence Forces. We should seriously consider recruitment for the future. It is not good enough to have young people walking the streets when, for very little extra money, they could be training in the Defence Forces and doing something worthwhile for their country.

See this speech in context