Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

If Deputy Jerry Buttimer reads the Minister's amendment to the motion, he will note the progress made with the consolidation of barracks even though Fine Gael people railed against it as usual. That consolidation of barracks has been made possible by the very considerable political progress which has been made on this island.

Deputy Dara Calleary's motion is in stark contrast to the amendment proposed by the Minister in which he condemns public representatives who represent the views and concerns of their local communities. In the amendment, the Minister is obviously condemning the concerns expressed by some of his Government colleagues, some of whom are in the Chamber. I note the Minister commends the consolidation of barracks which has occurred and which enabled major investment across the infrastructure of our Permanent Defence Force. That programme of rationalisation was effective, realistic and left in place the network of military installations needed in our State.

I understand that traditionally there has been higher recruitment to the Defence Forces from areas where barracks are located. We have a long Army tradition in my county of Cavan, as my constituency colleague, Deputy Joe O'Reilly, will know, and I am very glad to have the opportunity to once again commend the work of members of the Defence Forces throughout the country but, in particular, those members who I personally know and who are stationed in Dún Uí Néill in Cavan. I also commend the work of retired and deceased personnel and take the opportunity to pay tribute to so many of those personnel who, in different decades, served overseas on overseas missions acting as great ambassadors for our country.

Coming from a Border area, one is probably more conscious of the vital role of our Army and particularly the work that was carried out by those personnel in very difficult times during the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and in to the early 1990s. The changed circumstances in the north of my province of Ulster enabled the consolidation of barracks. Barracks have been closed in the three southern Ulster counties of Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan but three key military installations, all strategically placed, have been left in place. It was probably in 1987 or 1988 that the then Fianna Fáil Government approved the provision of a new barracks in Cavan town and sourced the site on the Dublin Road.

That barracks, subsequently named Dún Uí Néill, replaced an old and inadequate barracks on Barrack Hill in the town. As a result of that major investment during a time of great economic difficulties, soldiers based in Cavan were able to move into the most modern barracks in Europe in 1990. It is the only operational barracks that has been provided by our own State and all of us are proud of the modern facilities it offers. It is run in an efficient manner and provides good value for money. It is the most economical barracks in the country, with running costs of €200,000 per annum when one includes maintenance, utilities, electricity, heating and transport fuels. It is also a major Reserve Defence Forces training centre. Other FCA centres throughout counties Cavan and Leitrim were merged into Dún Uí Néill to provide better training facilities and benefits of scale from the larger numbers involved.

For towns like Cavan, the Army barracks is an integral part of the community and local economy. The recent reports on the Government's plans to shut this facility have caused great distress not only to the Army and civilian personnel directly affected but also among the wider community. There is no avoiding the fact that the closure of the barracks will cost jobs and hurt local businesses. Some 120 personnel from A company, sixth battalion of the western command are based in Cavan and an additional 22 personnel are currently serving on the United Nations mission in southern Lebanon.

The facilities of the barracks have been made available to the local community and a state-of-the-art gymnasium and other sporting facilities have been used by our county teams and local sports clubs. Senior citizen organisations also regularly use the facilities. The provision of public facilities on a practical basis to local community organisations has been a welcome development. Deputy O'Reilly and I have been invited to the gym on numerous occasions but work has precluded us from attending. It is very ecumenical to invite all sides.

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