Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

As Deputy Bannon knows, no one will lose his or her job as a consequence of these changes. The jobs will be retained and I hope and believe the families concerned will continue to reside in Mullingar. The Mullingar economy should continue to benefit from the income received by the troops in Mullingar from the work they do in the Defence Forces. I know the Deputy and his constituency colleague, Deputy McFadden, have been very concerned about these developments. I assure them I will do what I can to work with colleagues in the House and the local community, through the Department of Defence, to ensure matters are dealt with in a manner that is ultimately to the benefit of the community and a value is realised from the premises to the benefit of the Defence Forces, as has happened in the past, so that moneys can be reinvested in the Defence Forces to the benefit of all of those who currently serve in Mullingar.

I am unaware of the issues the Deputy raised and will ensure I obtain information to respond to him on them. I will write to the Deputy in that regard. I look forward to working with him and his colleague, Deputy McFadden, in seeking to identify appropriate uses for the barracks and, I hope, appropriate purchasers for the site so that it becomes a dynamic centre of activity to the benefit of the local community.

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