Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The closure of barracks and the consolidation of the Defence Forces formations into a smaller number of locations is a key objective of the White Paper on Defence. The dispersal of personnel over an extended number of locations is a major impediment to essential collective training. It also imposes increased and unnecessary overheads on the Defence Forces in terms of barrack management, administration, maintenance and security. The consolidation process is designed to facilitate higher training standards, while also freeing up under-utilised resources and personnel for operational duties.

The development and increased capability of the modern Defence Forces, when taken together with the improved security situation along the border, removed the rationale for having seven barracks and posts along the border and provided the opportunity for consolidation of units in a smaller number of locations. In framing the 2009 budget the Government, therefore, decided to reduce the number of army barracks to bring it more into line with operational requirements of the Defence Forces and to achieve economies of scale.

My Department and the Defence Forces continually review Defence Forces requirements in relation to barracks, infrastructure and other military installations. While further consolidation is desirable from an operational and training perspective, it will be important to let the most recent changes bed down. As such, there are no immediate plans for further barrack closures.

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