Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

The potential savings are €5 million per year. This is not just about money savings but making the Defence Forces more professional. The number of full-time personnel in the Defence Forces has dropped considerably over the past several years. The Government made a commitment in the programme for Government and in last week's budget that personnel levels will be maintained at 9,500. The closure of these barracks will release some personnel from other duties.

As I stated in my reply, if one wants 24-seven barrack security, it can tie up quite a number of soldiers to perform it in rotation. The redeployment to other barracks will release more man hours and allow for these duties to be performed more efficiently. When personnel levels were at 14,000, it was easy to keep these barracks open. The Government had to make a decision on this and did so.

The Minister for Defence met several delegations prior to the closures, often for up to two hours, on future potential uses of the barrack sites in question. The Minister's priority is not to have these sites left idle. As I said in my reply, most personnel stayed in their existing accommodation when barracks were closed by the Deputy's party in government. I do not believe the closures will result in a huge revenue loss to any town.

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