Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

We have certainly moved on from the rebellious Irish in terms of this Government's approach to dealing with the troika - that is for sure. Setting aside that issue, the Minister seems to be suggesting that his advice is primarily being dictated by the military considerations of the heads of the Army, the officers and so on, while my concern is primarily for the rank and file military personnel, their families, the towns with which they are associated and the detrimental effect barrack closures might have on them.

In the Minister's consideration of this as a financial matter, is the Government taking a holistic approach or is one Department doing something which may ultimately cost the State money elsewhere? There is little benefit in cutting costs in one area if there is a further negative, knock-on impact on a town, increased transport costs incurred in travelling to upgraded barrack locations, costs associated with the upgrading or centralisation of barracks, social welfare costs that may ensue and the long-term impact on a town of a barrack closure. The Minister said there is no evidence of people uprooting immediately because a barracks has closed but in the long term the closure will have a medium to long-term effect on the town as personnel migrate to other locations over time.

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