Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

How many Dublin-based civil servants wish to relocate to Newbridge? I fundamentally disagree with the principle of moving Department headquarters around the country. The Department of Defence is not moving too far but if it is looking for a site in Newbridge, it will prove quite expensive. Recently someone told me of a small property in Newbridge which sold for an outrageous sum. A few miles from Newbridge, there are thousands of acres in the Curragh. The Minister for Finance is moving the Army headquarters to the Curragh, yet he is moving the Department of Defence to Newbridge. Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with the move, I do not understand the logic of this. If the Minister wants to undertake this move in a practical, pragmatic and cost effective manner, the Department should move from Newbridge to the Curragh along with the Army headquarters.

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