Mr. Se?n Clancy:

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I am conscious that I have not responded to Senator Wilson. I will address some of the issues he raised. If I have missed any points in my responses, we can come back to those issues. The Senator rightly said that the systematic closure of barracks was a policy decision made in the late 1990s and early 2000s, right up to the reorganisation in 2012. I am conscious of the fine barracks that exists in Cavan. I have flown a helicopter onto the helipad there on many occasions and I am familiar with the barracks. It must be borne in mind that it is occupied and utilised by another Department at the moment.

Speaking more widely to the fundamental strategic piece raised by the Senator in respect of recruitment potential and the demographic and geographical distribution thereof, when one does not have a footprint in a particular geographical area, that causes a downturn in the potential. In the context of the organisation, the level of communications and the manner in which we can deliver messaging through various media, we are proactive in trying to be inclusive in terms of from where we bring people. We have a significant number of Cavan people who are barracked in Athlone, for instance. There are a lot of people of the 28th Battalion from that area, and in Dundalk. We are trying to attract people who wish to join the Defence Forces.

The re-engagement of Cavan barracks is a policy issue. It may come into the lens of consideration again, if I may put it that way, in the context of the structural reorganisation and redesign of the Defence Forces. That is yet to be determined in terms of our restructuring and redesign of the organisation.

There was a question on the future of the Defence Forces. All the potential options will be on the table in terms of our restructuring. I will take the Senator's view in that regard on board.

I answered the Cathaoirleach's question on the competitive edge but-----