Seán Conlan (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

Nobody likes the idea of closing military barracks that have existed in Irish towns for centuries, in many cases. The reality is that we are not living in normal times. I am sure the Minister would not consider doing this if it were not absolutely necessary. The Government has been charged with turning around the legacy of the previous Government, which left us in an economic mess. I do not need to remind the House that the eyes of the EU and IMF are on us constantly. Whether we like it or not, we need to make difficult decisions if the savings needed to get us out of the economic hole in which we find ourselves are to be made. We have a stark choice between rationalising our Army barracks infrastructure and reducing the number of soldiers in the Defence Forces.

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