Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this item for topical debate today. It is the most topical and talked about issue in my constituency since senior Army personnel visited Columb Barracks on Monday and dropped a bombshell with the news that our barracks is to close in early December. I was surprised that my constituency colleague, Deputy James Bannon, yesterday withdrew his parliamentary questions to the Minister for Defence, Deputy Alan Shatter. Might this indicate the barracks is indeed to close in December? Was the Deputy embarrassed by the reply of the Minister?

This is not my first time to raise the issue. I raised it directly with the Minister on 24 May, at which stage I was accused of scaremongering by members of the Government parties. At the time I invited the Minister to visit the Army barracks to see the facilities at first hand and the good work Army personnel are carrying out. That invitation stands, to the Minister of State, Deputy Paul Kehoe, and to the Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter. The previous three Ministers for Defence, the former Deputy, Tony Killeen, and Deputies Willie O'Dea and Brendan Smith, visited the barracks and gave commitments regarding its future.

The people of Mullingar are anxious and worried and want the Government to be upfront and honest with them. Last night Rebecca O'Callaghan started a Facebook campaign to keep Columb Barracks open. Within one hour more than 1,000 people had signed it and today in excess of 2,000 had joined. If the Minister of State looks at the page he will see clearly the level of feelings expressed.

The Army barracks can trace its history back almost 200 years when it was purchased by the British War Department. Today it is the home of the fourth field artillery regiment and also acts as a headquarters of the Reserve Defence Force and the 54th regiment. The driving range is used by members of An Garda Síochána. Columb Barracks is the last remaining artillery barracks in Ireland and, given its location in the geographical centre of the country, is of strategic importance. It acts as a staging post for all our overseas and UN-based operations. More than 200 serving personnel are based in the barracks along with more than 20 highly skilled civilian staff. Currently a large number of personnel from the barracks are representing their country in Lebanon. It is bad to think that when these men and women are doing their work abroad, this Government is threatening to close their home.

These men and women continue to display the fine tradition of overseas peacekeeping work. We are very proud of our Army personnel, from both Columb Barracks, Mullingar and Custume Barracks, Athlone. There are also two active groups in Mullingar which represent retired soldiers and are doing great community work. Many serving members of the Defence Forces are heavily involved within the community. Only recently they organised a sponsored climb of Croagh Patrick for Living Links, in which I took part.

The income generated from pay, pensions and ancillary purchases is worth in the region of €8 million to the local economy. To close this barracks, with the withdrawal of this level of revenue from the local economy, would be devastating to many families and to small businesses and their staff who are fighting a hard battle to stay afloat with no support from this Government. This is not an issue for the EU-IMF as there is no financial gain to be made in closing this barracks, a point well articulated by my constituency colleague and Cabinet member, the Minister of State, Willie Penrose, in The Irish Times today and in local media, the Westmeath Topic and Midlands Radio 3. Army personnel will be paid relocation fees and there will be capital costs to extend further barracks to accommodate additional personnel. We will be unable to sell the barracks so any possible gain would be outweighed.

I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Penrose, will raise this issue at Cabinet as he has always been supportive of the barracks. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, will listen to him and to what the people of Mullingar have to say. I finish with the words of Deputy Penrose, spoken before he became a Minister of State. In May 2009 he stated: "We will not allow the barracks to close in any term, whether short, medium or long".

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